#reread the entire comic today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fariesoiree · 28 days

Note

Absolutely feral for the aphrodisiac chocolate drabble! what would have happened if you extended it into an entire fic? 👀👀 *wink wink*

hmmm should i? i usually don’t really plan on extending any of my drabbles n i actually don’t go back n reread them bc they’re vastly different from how i write now ( 2 me ) but that one gets a lot of love

that being saiddddd idk if i’d actually ever extend it but here’s a little something of what would happen later that day broken down into two liddol moments bc bc bc idk if i would write it and if i dooo i don’t wanna spoil it c: mdni black fem coded reader unedited

the car ride back to your university apartment. that had to be one of the most tense moments hobie has even been in, even when he compares it to all the times he’s spent flying through the air with multiple near misses from the amount of concrete rubble thrown at him from half human-half animal villains hellbent on ruining new york.

he is ultimately forced to next to you, breathing in the smell of your sweet perfume. today, he watched you spritz the yellow sol de janero —brazilian crush cheirosa 62 —bottle over your body, naked and highlighted in a dewy sheen from the baby oil you applied to your damp skin, fresh out the shower.

the thought makes his dick absolutely throb in his jeans, baggy but somehow still tight. he’s abandoned the mass of silvery and studded belts, throwing them across the backseat of your sedan. occasionally, when you slow for a red light or make a less than smooth turn around the corner, the buckles jingle and clank against each other.

his brain is muddied with images of your body, basking golden in the sunlight. he remembers lazing about, strewn across your bed and watching in adoration as you get ready for the outing. he’s mad at himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity and sweeping you off your feet, never mind that the aphrodisiac hadn’t had an effect.

“you sure you can’t pull over and give me head?”

your eyes are blown wide, truly in shock that after just fucking your face in the mall dressing room, he wants to go again. not even ten minutes ago, you were swallowing his cum and being dragged towards the exit promptly after. “what? hobie, i drive a fishbowl. that’s literally illegal.”

“so then pull somewhere empty. i’ll give you head, first. consider it a reward.” hobie thumbs at the bottom of your sweater, reaching over the middle console and hooking his fingers under the buttery smooth material. the pads of his appendages rubs against your skin and for a moment, your heart begins to race.

“hobart larry brown.” you have to force your voice to remain still and firm despite the turmoil building inside you. he’s too convincing with his sly words and suggestive touches. he’s the one under the influence and here he is, influencing you.

he clicks his tongue and disappointment and pulls his hand away. much like how you would, he huffs out a breath of air and crosses his arms over his chest. out the corner of your eye, you can see his legs wide open in a manspread. “fine. be a boring conformist.”

it’s comical how fast hobie pushed you through the entryway door to your apartment. you suppose you would have laughed when you stumbled over the long laces of your air forces if the context hadn’t been so provocative. you would have giggled when hobie circles his arms around your waist and lift you in the air. instead, you consider yourself lucky that your roommates aren’t in the common space to witness this, and possibly not here at all.

regardless, hobie would have done the same. he would have paraded into your room and slammed the door shut if they were here or not. he does it now, setting you down as gently as he can manage against your bed, softened by the mattress topper and flushed sheets.

he’s impatient and you can tell because he nearly forgets to lock the door behind him. had you not reminded him, pointing to the brass doorknob, it would have escaped him entirely.

it’s in record time that he’s got your legs spread and one pushed into the comforter, knee bent and trembling in the air. he slurps and suckles your cunt, dripping in runny arousal. hobie’s is relentless, stuck in an infinite cycle of trying to milk your cunt dry despite the never ending arousal that gushes out.

you can sob and cry all you want but he isn’t deterred. if anything, it’s encouragement. it’s like positive reinforcement to taste you like this, indulging in the subtle taste of sour acidity — completely natural and hobie’s favorite drug.

back arching of the sage green bedsheets, you’re body is already spent. hobie hasn’t put a single thing inside your throbbing pussy. not his dick, not his fingers, just the wet, warm muscle of his tongue wriggling and toying with your cunt. you’re delirious after cumming three times in the last few minutes, each weaker than the last.

“icanticanticant —!” your palm comes in contact with hobie’s coarse wicks, and not for the first time either. his forehead feels warm beneath it, clammy with a thin layer of sweat from exerting such physical activity.

pop! hobie’s hand falls hot against your skin. from between your legs, he lifts his head with a scowl. his face reflects an expression you’ve never seen on him before, as if you’re stepped between him and his greatest desire. “try that shit again, bug. see what i do to you.”

you’re hesitant to move, knowing that once you do, the onslaught of his tongue would proceed again. it just barely borders a dull sensation of pain and has you convinced there’s no more you can give him so quickly and back-to-back. still, your body has been manipulated into craving him. you need more; your nerves are certain of it.

you don’t move fast enough for hobie’s liking. his stare hardens and he raises a thick brow. you’re still restricting his access when he sits up a little more. “i’m not playing with your lil’ ass. move your fuckin’ hand or i’m tying them back.”

he’s never spoken to you this way, not once. not even in your most intimate and heated moments under the privacy of the night and locked away in one of your rooms. his tone invokes a carnal desire and you comply, slowly pulling your hand away.

you sort of expect praise, some form of acknowledgment that you did something right. yet, nothing like that comes. the only that happens is the resuming of hobie’s mouth against your cunt.

#⋆౨ৎ˚⟡ 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 . . . 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 . . . 𝜗𝜚⋆#hobie x black!reader #hobie smut #hobie brown #x black fem reader #x black reader #astv hobie #x reader #hobie x reader #hobie x y/n

90 notes · View notes

sylvan-librarian · 4 months

Text

In response to the (really good!) story for Murders at Karlov Manor, I've been seeing some (thankfully limited) discourse on the same old tired argument that Magic story has no stakes because characters can die and then come back to life as a ghost or get (seemingly permanently) turned into robot monsters and then get better eventually.

People can obviously feel what they feel and believe what they believe about Magic story, but personally, I'm just so tired of this argument. Magic story is largely a marriage of high fantasy and superhero comics. These two types of literature have much in common, but one similarity stands out in my mind: the impermanence of character death. Comic book superheroes famously won't stay dead, and while this fact has been controversial for decades, it is nonetheless a cornerstone of the genre. And hell, even in The Lord of Rings - the god-emperor and founding text of the entire fantasy genre (for better or worse) - Tolkien's wizard OC Gandalf dies and comes back to life STRONGER ... nigh invincibly powerful (if LotR was written today, people would call Gandalf [and probably Aragorn for that matter] a Mary Sue).

This not my attempt to shill for a corporation, mind you. In contrast, I'd rather see MORE people complaining about things worth complaining about:

The increasing price of the game gatekeeping so many from the hobby

Hasbro firing 1,000 employees right before Christmas

WotC sending hired thugs to someone's house over a mistake the company itself made

The focus on the collectability of cards over how they play

And I'm not even saying there aren't aspects of Magic story itself worth critiquing. To note:

The enjoyability of its prose is inconsistent at times (reread the Magic Origins stories, for example)

The messaging is sometimes off (i.e. - the worst bad guys in the entire universe are folks who use science to make their bodies more in line with their view of themselves)

The stories - especially the big epic ones - are rarely given time to breathe, and the authors are clearly asked to do a lot with very little

War of the Spark: Forsaken

Maybe asking people to have a more nuanced take on the storyline of a children's card game is too much, but I think that "story bad" is far too dismissive. I remember reading through the All Will Be One stories thinking: "Well, there is actually NO WAY WotC is going to kill off ALL of these characters that got phyrexianized." Jace and Ajani are literally two of the main characters of Magic; Nissa, Vraska, and Nahiri are maybe less popular and important to the overall setting, but they all nonetheless have their extremely devoted fans (me; I'm one of those fans; bet you can't guess of which 'walker). I find it a bit silly to assume that the mass permadeath of named characters would be how the Phyrexian arc would end. Modern Magic is just not the type of story where the creators will merc half of their cast just to appease certain sentiments about its literary value.

This post has turned into a lot of meandering nonsense, but here's what I'm largely trying to get across: I wish more people would accept Magic story for what it is, not for what they think it should be. I'm NOT saying people shouldn't have standards for their entertainment, but they also shouldn't expect Shakespeare* - or even Tolkien - from a story about wizard superheroes written to provide a backdrop for a children's card game.

*I also want to mention here: characters dying and then coming back is also present in Shakespeare.

#magic the gathering #vorthos

86 notes · View notes

emillyverse · 3 months

Text

Production stages of the Fan Comic of "The Wish Kingdom" !!!

(written by @annymation)

And as promised, here is the "schedule" I said I was putting together for the Comic fic production process.

In the end, this isn't really a "timeline", it's more like a list of what I'll do to build the comic. I want to make all the processes very clear and described to give you an idea of how it will be done and a small idea of how long it will take.

Remembering that I am a human being, not an AI to do things quickly, I have another life beyond networks and this project.

Besides the fact that none of us are being paid to do this comic (although I really wanted to, I'm not going to lie), all of this is being done on the basis of love, affection, positivity and adoration for the initial concepts dispensed by Disney, their classic films that really made that company grow and the main messages conveyed by Walt Disney while he was still alive: "If you can dream something, you can make it happen!" and "It's fun to do the impossible!"

So please be patient and kind to me and the entire team! I already love, adore and thank everyone willing to follow our project.

Well… Let's get started!

1- Rereading and Separating the text:

Starting today (02/26/2024) I will be re-reading Anny's fanfic, separating all of her text into scenes, highlighting the following points:

Atmosphere

Characters (designs made by @uva124)

Speeches and facial expressions - the message

Thus defining "who says what, how and in which place?"

Since I will be doing the setting art myself, as the story progresses, I would really appreciate a little help. I'm guessing if you're reading this you've probably already read The Kingdom of Wishes and consequently imagined the scenarios! If you find any images online that remind you of the locations of the scenes in your mind, you can send them to me as a reference! I'm always open to references for drawings!

2- Make the "Thumbnails"

I don't know what term foreigners use to define the thumbnails that make up the first drafts of comics, but here in Brazil, we call them "Doll", in reference to the fact that the sketches are a "test doll" for the comic strip .

Anyway, I digress! It is at this stage that I define the composition of the scenes through sketches. This is where I define what appears or not in the scene, what the scene will be focused on, how I will guide the reader's eye by the meaning of reading the scene, where the lines, the characters, their movements and others will be located… It's a planning phase on how to portray the scenes; the most complex I would say.

3- Review

Here I take a break for two days or three days at most, to relax and forget about the project for a bit. I come back with new energy and review everything that was done, ask for opinions and suggestions from the team, in short, I give a great evaluation and improvement in everything!

4 - Finalization and Publication

In this last step, I transform the sketches into final artwork using graphite pencils, colored pencils and pens that I have available.

When they are all finished, I will publish the comics here and on all my social networks!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally....

I would like to say that yes, I will be posting spoilers for all these stages, watch them at your own risk!

Remembering that English is not my native language, so I really hope everything was understandable! But if you have any questions, you can send questions to me or any member of the team!

And if you want to know a little more about my arts, you can check out my Instagram!

Kisses full of light and stars!

Let's work!!

55 notes · View notes

hamsterclaw · 1 year

Note

I've been rereading The Vows so many times I can actually see it play out like a movie in my head. That is how much I love it! But I was wondering will you ever be up to write from Yoongi's POV during the time OC ran off to Geneva? A glimpse of his feelings during the time she's gone with a heartfelt but comical interference by Jin? 😬

what is this prompt and why do i love it so much?

here goes:

A Vows drabble, featuring chaebol! Seokjin

Yoongi watches as Mrs Gye sets the vegetables in the middle of the table, followed by the rice, the beef, the steamed fish. It's somewhere around the pickles that he finally breaks.

'Where's Mrs Min?' he asks.

Mrs Gye arranges the pickles for a maddening half minute before she answers.

'Mrs Min went out this morning and hasn't come back.'

It's only a lifetime of deference to his elders that stops Yoongi from snapping. He's also got the sense that he's on thin ice with Mrs Gye right now. Perhaps it's the way she's been glaring daggers at him since she walked into the dining room.

'Do you have any idea where she might be?' he asks, softening his voice.

Mrs Gye doesn't snort, she's too ladylike for that, but the look she gives him conveys her discontent effectively enough.

She stares him down until he's adequately chastened.

Then she says, 'I knew Y/N's mother. She was impulsive and hot-tempered, but she was a good sort.'

Yoongi's thinking back to the events of today. 'She came to my office today,' he says. He's thinking of you, of your bright face and windswept hair as you'd popped up in his secretary's office this afternoon, clutching a bucket of popcorn and a stuffed bear.

Mrs Gye's ladling soup into a bowl. 'Miss Kim Nara hasn't been around lately,' she murmurs.

Yoongi grimaces at the mention of your fiercely protective best friend.

'Nara doesn't like me,' he says.

Mrs Gye gives him another look that makes his balls retract. 'She's a loyal friend.' She pauses. 'Like Kim Seokjin is to you.'

'You've always liked Seokjin more than me,' Yoongi grumbles, annoyed with himself for letting petulance creep into his tone.

Mrs Gye pats his arm. 'Seokjin is an easy person to love,' she says. 'Not like you.'

She sets the bowl in front of him. 'But for some reason, Y/N seems to be fond of you.'

Yoongi gazes up at her in surprise.

Mrs Gye isn't smiling, but there's kindness in her eyes.

'I have no idea why.'

'Me either,' Yoongi says, honestly.

***

Yoongi's perfectly capable of not letting his emotions cloud his judgement. His cool head serves him well, and he's just as good at not letting his emotions show on his face. Compared to your best friend Kim Nara, though, he's an amateur.

It's been a few weeks since you left his office, and all he's managed to get out of the sphinx that is Kim Nara is that you're safe.

'Mr Min?'

The irritatingly nasal voice of his legal advisor draws him out of his thoughts.

Before he can answer, Kim Seokjin rolls his eyes and stands. 'I believe that settles it,' he says. 'Mr Min's agreed to sign over his entire company to me for the token sum of 1000 won. In the next meeting we can discuss his marriage contract, which I am also after.'

Seokjin waits with barely concealed impatience as the room empties out.

'What kind of man comes to a non-urgent meeting when his wife is missing?' he asks.

Yoongi shuffles through his list of possible responses to Seokjin and settles on a curt, 'Fuck you.'

Seokjin's looking out at the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows. It's a gloriously sunny day, and on any other occasion Yoongi would be giving himself a moment to enjoy the view of downtown Seoul bustling underfoot, the Hangang river in the distance.

'Is that the tone of voice you took with Kim Nara?' Seokjin asks. He turns back to look at Yoongi. 'Is that why she won't tell you where the brat is?'

Yoongi's eye twitches at the use of the word 'brat' coming out of Seokjin's mouth in reference to his wife.

Seokjin blinks at him, like butter wouldn't melt, like he can't sense how close Yoongi is to lunging out of his seat.

Or maybe he can, because he takes a step back.

'Kim Nara's company has been after a property in Itaewon for the last year. It's owned by the Kim conglomerate.'

Yoongi's sitting up.

'This Kim conglomerate,' Seokjin clarifies.

'I'll give you mates' rates if you want,' Seokjin offers. 'But if I were you, Yoongi, I'd just throw yourself at her mercy.'

Yoongi's frowning, reeling at the information.

Seokjin sighs. 'If Y/N came to me asking about you, she could offer me Cheongdam-dong and I wouldn't blink. But if she just told me how she loves you so much she couldn't function without you, I'd tell her everything she needed to know.'

He pauses, looks out at the view again. 'Maybe after I tried my damnedest to lure her into my bed and convince her one chaebol son is as good as another.'

Yoongi jumps up, and Seokjin turns back to him.

'If you're going to hit me, avoid my face, please,' Seokjin drawls.

He keeps his arms down, though, as Yoongi pulls him into a hard, quick, hug that's over almost as quickly as it's begun.

Then he's off, heading for the door.

***

Seokjin was right. Kim Nara folded the instant Yoongi turned up at her office.

He'd prepared a speech, with all the reasons why he needed to find you, but in the end all it had taken was a word.

'Please,' Yoongi had said. 'I want to make sure she's all right. I won't push her into anything. I just ---'

His voice had cracked on the word but he'd persevered. 'Please.'

And now Yoongi's stepping off the plane in Geneva, getting into the car that'll take him to your maisonette.

He steps out into the bright sunshine, the crispness of the early spring day.

There's a window box of red geraniums next to your door, and as Yoongi rings the bell, all he can think is that he's looking forward to seeing your face.

He can't wait.

©hamsterclaw 2023

#story: vows #vows au #yoongi drabble

176 notes · View notes

icejinlov3r · 2 months

Text

Here is a new promotion art for “Dungeons and Dragon Balls” because today is actually the day I started this story a year ago!

(Be warned, I start a rambling a bit below here lol)

I can’t believe it’s actually been a year since I wrote this incredible story. Out of all the fan fiction I’ve written over time, this is the one I want to share with as many people as possible! I’m just so happy with the plot, the characterization, the action scenes, the drama, comedy, and romance - everything!

I’ve actually gone back and reread every chapter at least once (I made a lot of grammar mistakes - I’ll edit the entire thing eventually). I even reread all the comments that readers left. It was just a such a fun time, and I’m kinda sad this story is over.

I’ve contemplated with the idea of a sequel SEVERAL times since then. And while I have plenty of interesting ideas, I’m not certain that’ll happen for a few reasons. One, my motivation feels different then it did back then. It seems more easy for me to burnout on my longer stories if I’m not careful, and remembering how long the first book was, I don’t know if I’d want to make a sequel with that kind of length. Second, I also just don’t want to ruin a good thing; the story ended pretty well where it did, and I don’t want to somehow ruin it with a follow up that doesn’t live up to the first.

I’m not saying I’ll never do a sequel. But as of right now, it’s not likely either. We’ll see. I’ve also thought about trying to adapt the whole fanfic into a comic series - but while I like most of my art, I don’t think I’m THAT good for something like that.

But anyway, sorry, I’m rambling - overall, I wanna thank everyone who’s read, voted, and commented on this fanfic! It overfilled me with joy back then, and it still does now! I’m not sure for certain what I’ll do in the future, if I’ll do anything, but the moment I decide to I’ll let you guys know!

#dragon ball series #dragon ball #dragon ball z #frieza #frostdbs #fanfic #dragon ball super #zamasu #perfect cell

11 notes · View notes

xgummibearx · 1 year

Text

All Might x Reader

((As requested by @mandaplace ))

Toshinori comes home to find that you’re completely spent.

TW: burnout, stress, angst, seasonal depression.

(--) insert name

---

The winter snow rolled in relentlessly. The sky was grey, the dull grey trunk of trees stretched their bare branches over the windows. The countryside was relaxing, far from prying eyes and flashing cameras. The perfect place for the number one hero. (--) rubbed her eyes, turning over as the chilly morning air seeped in. Her body felt numb, her limbs felt too heavy. She was tired, so tired and she didn't know why. When (--) opened her eyes she traced her fingers were Toshinori had been sleeping only hours before, his warmth long gone. She lost track of time, taking a deep breath before finally rising out of bed to look at the dreary sight outside. The skies grey, and the only sound to accompany her was the wind.

"Okay...let's just get through today." She stood, and meandered towards the bathroom. The warm water on her face helped wake her up a little, the fresh clothes helped too. (--) sat on the couch, a hot cup of coffee in hand as she pulled open her laptop. Typing away, answering emails. She was thankful to have the option of working from home in the colder months, the commute was such a pain. (--)'s stung as she rubbed her face, realizing the only light in the room was from her computer screen. Lawsuits, forms, all sorts of paperwork was necessary when you were the number one hero's secretary. Her printer was almost steaming, the hum of it preparing sheets was almost comforting as she sorted everything into piles all over the livingroom. The hours passed, and she felt like she was somewhere else entirely, her body ached, her head spinning as she found herself getting slowly more frustrated. (--) must have skimmed, and reread the same paper three times but none of it was sinking in. Something about damages to a baker's store front or something like that, she put it down and covered her face. There were still dozens of others to go over. She felt her heart racing, everything screaming at her at once.

The sound of the papers were rhythmic, her heart pounding in her ears as the papers piled so high on the print tray they began to cascade to the floor but the papers kept coming. She had forgotten to wash last night's dishes, when was the last time she ate? (--) could feel tears filling her eyes. The newsletter for the fan signing...yes, yes that would take her mind off things she loved preparing for those. She wondered if there were still any pens left over? Yagi loved to give out his special pens at the signings...the fans adored them. (--) went down the hall towards the storage room, checking the pens, tears still rolling down her cheek as ahe counted the small boxes. Pens with little comical faces of All Might on the ends. She went back to the livingroom, repeating the number in her head, now where was the signing...it was in an email somewhere, which one? She typed up the news letter, and selected print, her hands shaking. She suddenly looked up at the sound of her printer beeping, the indicator light was bright red and flashed for a moment before the whole thing went dead.

"no! no no no..." She smacked the side of it, kept trying to turn it on but nothing. (--) took a deep breath, and started sorting out the papers she had forgotten to pick up earlier.

---

He felt like he was able to exhale for the first time all day, Yagi stepped into the door and he could see the lights on in the livingeoom. It was almost ten, that wasn't too unusual. "She's been working such long hours lately...is everything alright?" He wondered, then looked up to see a few papers on the floor. "Strange..." He thought, removing his jacket as he read them. Something about merch sales in Canada, and high demands. "Honey?" He called, taking off his track shoes. "I found this in the hallway, was it import-" His voice trailed off, there she was. Sitting on the floor, her morning coffee only half drank, and her eyes...he had never seen her so weary. "Honey?...(--) are you alright?" He asked, stepping into the livingroom.

Yagi's soft footsteps made her look up slowly, her heart aching at the sight of him but also heavy with embarrassment. "Yagi...I...well, the printer gave out...I still have so much to do..." He smiled, leaning down.

"I'll send someone to take a look but we can just replace it..." He held her face, his own concerned. "That's not what this is about...(--) you're shaking..." She could feel the tears fighting for release.

"I'm just overwhelmed...I, I know what I need to do...and I can get it done, I will!" She added, why was she so scared? "But I just feel like I can't...I don't want to let you down, and you have so much on your plate..." She was hardly coherent after thar as she leaned in to him and sobbed. Yagi picked her up gently and they sat on the couch. He held her close, rubbing her back.

"You don't have to try to explain...or even make sense of what you're feeling, just get it out first...we'll think of something together don't worry." She held onto him, her sobs making her entire body shake. It amazed her, how he always knew just what to say.

#allmight x reader #all might #mha fic #mha #bnha fanfiction #toshinori yagi x reader #yagi toshinori #writer #mha fanfic #bnha

87 notes · View notes

amalgamateofficial · 4 months

Text

Amalgamate Ch. 20 Progress Report

Hey, y'all! Sorry this chapter's been taking ten-billion years and a thousand lifetimes to complete. Honestly, the number of roadblocks that came between me and my progress on Amalgamate was absurd to the point of being almost comical (almost).

But I am very, very close to being done. I've been doing the final readings of ch. 20 the past week, but I got slowed down by the fact that there were a few scenes I wasn't happy with, so I more or less rewrote them. I'm gonna start up another reading today, and my goal is to see how far I can get without stopping to do any major editing. I'll reread the chapter over and over until it's polished enough that I can read the entire thing in a single day, and that'll be the signal to me that it's time to transfer the draft to AO3 and get the A/Ns ready.

That day should (hopefully) be any day now. I can't give a specific date yet, but soon. Definitely very soon. I'm getting sooooo close to a draft I'm happy with.

But in the meantime, would y'all like another short (and still kinda unpolished) preview of the chapter? Like a road trip snack to get us through the drive to our destination? I'll put it under the cut for those who prefer not to see previews :)

Anyway, I'll continue to keep you all updated as I finish up this chapter, and I'll definitely let you all know as soon as I think I'm about to post it.

Thank you all so much for your patience T_T

#amalgamate #amalgamate danganronpa #danganronpa amalgamate #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #danganronpa #drv3 fanfic #amalgamate drv3 #kokichi ouma #ouma kokichi #kaito momota #momota kaito #maki harukawa #harukawa maki #drv3 amalgamate #tbh if i don't post this chapter soon i will actually lose my mind #it's driving me up the wall #plz send help #and strawberry daifuku

19 notes · View notes

ranilla-bean · 5 months

Text

Nine people you’d like to get to know better

I was tagged by @blu3berrydraws ty for the tag!

Three ships: zukka, zukki (is this cheating), and beefleaf

First ever ship: i'm sure i've had ships before this one but when i got into merthur it obliterated every fandom experience i had before it and shaped me anew

Last song: "savior complex" by phoebe bridgers, it's just come up on my spotify wrapped playlist (kinda a zuko mood with this one??)

Last Film: partner and i watched the truman show a month or so back, and it was both our first time watching. really enjoyed! very much the kinda movie that english teachers go nuts over (in a good way)

Currently Reading: i'm rereading golden terrace (the new official translation, which i really enjoy) but making my way kinda slowly through it because i've been busy writing. but i recently finished bruce pascoe's dark emu, which is an incredible brief history of Aboriginal land management. i knew about some of its thesis but after reading, it's completely reframed the way i understand Indigenous relationship to the land (and also the apocalypse that was white settlement, as it shattered that entire way of knowing)

Currently Watching: finished my currently watching today, which was the new scott pilgrim anime. it's great! i've read the comic/watched (love) the movie and the anime is a totally new story which pays homage to the other media. it's great!

Currently consuming: a third steeping of tenren 913 tea, one of my favourite teas...

Currently craving: dunno. dosa? i'm always craving a dosa

tagging: @sulkybender @faux-fires @ed-teach @darktiolee @cereus-stars @biboomerangboi @seltzerfordogs @owlask @izzac

10 notes · View notes

ecoamerica · 1 month

Text

youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

13K notes · View notes

the-darklings · 2 years

Note

okay so i read your sandman fic yesterday after i watched the first episode of sandman and now ive watched the entire series and then read your fic again and i just had to say i absolutely adore it!! even more so after reading it and then rereading it with my newfound knowledge!! i love your characterisation of dream; it feels very authentic to his depiction in the series (i haven't read the comics yet) but there's also the influence that wanderer has had on him which on one hand seems very slight but also so so impactful!! idk it's just very realistic to me?? if i hadnt seen the series i could've easily been convinced the wanderer was part of it all along bc it plays into his character development and growth so well

also another thing i have to add is that i can't believe you've written the fourth chapter before the last episode came out you've honestly depicted his devotion?? passion?? protectiveness?? i'm not sure what to call it but whatever he has going on when he cares about someone deeply so accurately without even seeing him with calliope (then again, maybe there's a bunch of situations in that in the comics that i've missed out on)

anyway i hope you have a wonderful day and i'll be waiting patiently for the next chapter <33

Thank you so much sdjghjsdh 😭💕

I always feel weirdly undeserving of such beautiful messages but I’m immensely grateful for them all the same. I think mainly because I consider my version of Dream to still be somewhat “incomplete” due to missing context in his past. I just yesterday got the full comic series in the mail and started reading them (so far can confirm it’s super faithful + changes made were all 10000% better) because my end goal is a morph (haha) between show and comic Dream.

But y’all. Guys. I…I need you to understand. The bonus ep dropped on Friday. My friend (who got me into the series in the first place) was blowing up my DMs all you will lose you mind, bestie // never doubt your characterisation ever again but I was gritting my teeth and editing part 4, promising myself it’ll be my strawberries and cream after I’m done. So ep dropped Friday (19th), but I only watched the ep yesterday (20th), so when I tell you I was losing my mind over:

“you came” “you called.” (Show) vs “why did you not you call for me?” (“today”)

And

“In the olden days you would have left me here to rot without turning a hair.” (Show) vs “Because I didn’t think you would come.” (“today”)

LITERALLY GAVE ME BRAINROT + ALL THE BODY LANGUAGE. BRAIN WAS AND IS CHURNING.

#it’s the softness for me………….. the ‘please’ also made me want to chew concrete.#also rip morpheus but if calliope was my wife I would simply not let her go :/ love her so so much.#thank you so much for your kind words thought 💕#fic: today i bury you in me #asks

101 notes · View notes

bookgeekgrrl · 7 months

Text

My media this week (1-7 Oct 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🙂 Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe (Phil Plait, author & narrator) - The Bad Astronomer paints pictures of what the sky would look like standing on the surface of other planets, asteroids, etc.

😊 Initiation (Sex Wizards #1) (Alethea Faust) - erotic BDSM fantasy - actually a bit more plot & worldbuilding than I was expecting tbh, entertaining

😞 Miss Aldridge Regrets (Canary Club Mystery #1) (Louise Hare, author; Georgina Campbell, narrator) - This isn't a mystery the MC investigates, it's a mystery that happens TO her. She was tediously passive, seeming really rather naïve & foolish (esp given her age and life experience) and entirely in denial about pretty much everything that happens to her (since she's being actively framed for murder). However, the very short interval chapters from the killer's perspective did hook my interest and left me genuinely curious about the mystery. At about 44% I jumped to the end to see how the mystery resolved. I'm counting it as read since I did read over 50% of it.

😍 A Most Agreeable Murder (Julia Seales, author; Fiona Hampton, narrator) - comical pastiche/parody mashup of: Jane Austen (specifically), regency-set/gothic novels (in general) & Agatha Christie/country house mysteries - funny & entertaining, deftly done. Very Nightmare Abbey vibes in the absolute best way. I enjoyed all the caricature characters but 'overlooked tedious (but secretly a [redacted]) sister' Mary was my fave, absolute gothic queen

💖💖 +94K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

I'm dating the least inquisitive man in Ottawa (GlitterCity) - Rachel Reid's Game Changers: Troy Barrett/Harris Drover (but really mostly gen), 4K - cute, really nailed the character voices

Tinder Is the Night (rohkeutta) - MCU: stucky, 6K - hilarious, forever fave [reread]

Stay (fandomfluffandfuck) - MCU: stucky, 31K - silver fox/old guard Dom Steve subbing for newbie Dom Bucky - great character voices, hot af sex!

bitten hand guides best (frankoceansmoonriver) - The Witcher: Geraskier, 33K - lovely little fic with werewolf!Jaskier & witcher Geralt

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Make Some Noise - s2, e1

Dirty Laundry - s3, e2

Only Murders In The Building - s3, e10

Deadloch - s1, e1-8

Our Flag Means Death - s2, e1-3

D20: Burrow's End - "The Red Warren" (s20, e1)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Stoatal Recall" (s15, e1)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Re: Dracula - October 1: Not My Own Master In The Matter

Welcome to Night Vale #235 - Book Club

What Next: TBD - Inside Crypto's House of Cards

Re: Dracula - October 2: Play for the Stake of Human Souls

⭐ The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Searching for Squids with Dr. Sarah McAnulty

Ed Zitron's 15 Minutes In Hell - Episode 9 - David Roth

Re: Dracula - October 3: The Holiest Love

Into It - Tech Bros Laid the Foundation, but Women Built Social Media

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Enchanted Woods

Switched on Pop - In Defense of Crunk

Re: Dracula - October 4: It Is Like Death

Vibe Check - Freedom, Cut Me Loose!

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Baobab Fare

⭐ Shedunnit - Agatha and Plum

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Wilhelm Scream Remix

⭐ Song Exploder - Alvvays "Archie, Marry Me"

Re: Dracula - October 5: Baptism of Blood

Today, Explained - Caste away

Re: Dracula - October 6: My Affairs of Earth

Dear Prudence - My Girlfriend Is Always Late! Help!

Endless Thread - Find A Grave: Social Media Icon

Into It - Are Bed Bugs and Katy Perry Out for Blood?

Today, Explained - Who shot ya, Tupac?

Switched on Pop - Metro Boomin Wants Some More

ICYMI - Stop Snitching on Main

⭐ One Year - 1955: The Hiroshima Maidens

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Troubadours From the Tribe

Alternative Radio • 2000s

Foundations of Metal

Rob Zombie Radio • 2000s • Familiar

Metal Radio • 1980s

Manowar Radio

"Give It Away" [RHCP] Radio • Familiar

Stand And Deliver: The Very Best of Adam & The Ants {1999}

10 notes · View notes

liskantope · 1 year

Text

The webcomic Questionable Content dropped its 5000th comic on Friday, and throughout the weekend and today I binge-reread all of the most recent thousand. I've never had the impression that many of my followers care about QC (not ~8 years ago when I started to blog about it, nor today), but I do have a tradition, after each thousand of its comics, of writing a post reviewing that thousand. Here is where I blogged after the 1000th comic, reblogged after the 2000th comic, and reblogged again after the 3000th comic (this was all during my early months on Tumblr when I was more into reblogging my own posts), and here is my post from 2019 from after the 4000th came out.

When I look back on the pivotal moment clearly scheduled for QC's 500th comic, when it seemed that QC had already been going on quite a while and developed into a really involved storyline that had built and built to this moment when Faye would finally reveal her traumatic backstory, it's astounding to take in the fact that QC has now reached ten times that milestone.

I'm not sure I have a ton to say that isn't essentially a (perhaps more refined) regurgitation of some of the things I've said in the previous reviews, but I do feel like the webcomic has evolved somewhat significantly in its last thousand comics (though perhaps less so than in the previous thousands), and I have a few thoughts/feelings/opinions.

[Note: all of this post is substantially edited since a few people reblogged the original version.]

I would say that this is the first thousand-strip period where my enjoyment of the comic actually went downhill. (Although I would say my feeling is more positive when skimming back over the most recent thousand comics at once; it is still overall fantastic and there's a reason I've stayed so dedicated to reading it.)

It's hard to entirely pin down why I feel this way. I think it has a lot to do with the continued introduction of new characters, at a pace which has never shown any signs of slowing despite the massive accumulated cast the comic already has. While this means that some old characters are more or less abandoned or kind of shoved to the margins (which in some cases I'm quite sorry to see), by and large the comic has stretched out to make room to be shared by an ever-growing cast. At the 4000th strip, I was still doing fine with this, but by the 5000th, I'm starting to feel a little fatigued and past my capacity for keeping track of who's who (and also who knows whom; I have to give the artist credit for keeping careful track of this in the storyline and bringing it up in the dialog when long-already-established characters meet each other for the first time). Many more of them are AIs now, and I guess it may one day be judged as something-ist on my part that I find them more difficult to recognize and distinguish in my memory. Too many of the personalities are somewhat interchangeable too, which is something I should try to expand on just below.

I continue to describe the QC universe to myself using the term "utopia", even though I know this has to be somewhat of a misuse: as I've pointed out before, the characters in that universe are very aware that the broader society they live in is unjust in many ways, and some story arcs (though thankfully not most) are focused on rather futile battles against that injustice. But within the (quite large) social bubble that makes up the immediate QC universe, I have a hard time coming up with a better descriptive word than "utopia" -- maybe this could be modified to "social micro-utopia" or something? (I'm reliably terrible at coming up with terminology.) As I've been reading Peanuts steadily starting from its debut throughout much of the same period I've been reading QC, I actually see a likeness in these "social micro-utopias" and have been meaning forever to write an effortpost delving into this, but as it happens the 5000th-comic milestone has arrived first and that other post will have to wait for another time.

The attractions of indulging in the dynamics of a fictional social bubble which is this idyllic are that it provides a sort of pleasant escapism and that it's inspiring in a way that might enable someone to enact some of the practices and values seen in QC in their own IRL social lives. QC is a feel-good comic; it never tries or pretends to be anything other than a feel-good comic; and (at the risk of sounding trite and cliche) we all need more feel-good things in our lives, and I clearly continue to enjoy it after 8 years of keeping up through 5000 installments. At the same time, some of this... constant and slightly implausible pleasantness... has just gone a bit overboard for me by this point. Maybe a lot of this has to do with the fact that what little I have of a social life feels a very, very long way from satisfying (and I see that I remarked this in my post after comic #4000, with some language reflecting some optimism related to the fact that I was preparing at the time to move back to the US, and it's a reminder of how things really haven't improved for me to any significant degree. To state the obvious: completely unexpected earth-shaking pandemics really don't help. Neither does continuing to get only temporary jobs.) But back during the first half of the 2010's when I had a happily thriving social life, there was no lack of serious drama, tension, real struggles to tolerate one another's eccentricities, and undercurrents of discord. I keep waiting for the social dynamics between the QC characters to get a little more gritty somehow, to feel a little more real. I know this is an unfair expectation, since as observed above, QC never purports to be genuinely gritty.

One thing that has become a symbol for me of the seemingly incessant cheerfulness that characterizes around half the personalities in the comic is... I don't know if there's a term for this that cartoonists use, but you know the technique of drawing closed eyes so that they're concave down, meaning that it's the lower lids that are showing? Maybe this could be called "upturned closed eyes" or something? In cartoons they signal cheerfulness and easy-goingness. And sometimes it feels like half the QC characters go around showing this on their faces all the time, to the point that it's gotten monotonous and maybe a little sappy for my tastes. (This is part of what I meant above about personalities being interchangeable.) It's a constant reminder of how all the characters are pretty much automatically and immediately in lockstep on Major Social Values / Preferences, which I find pretty unrealistic for a hodgepodge of young-ish people who all gradually met kind of randomly. I honestly feel bad that this bothers me quite as much as it does, but it does kind of bother me. There could actually be some dissonance between the characters in terms of their beliefs, values, and ideas of a good time (example: a few, leaving aside Faye who is a recovering alcoholic, could view getting really drunk in social situations as kind of immature, unhealthy, and un-classy behavior -- even some 20-something people do see it that way!).

(Of course, as always, there are occasional characters who everyone has serious problems with, but they are either complete villains who get dealt with and then written out, people who are pushed to the periphery of the social circle but are visibly Trying To Be Better (actually, Sven seems to be the only one in this category), or once-somewhat-hostile characters that the cartoonist obviously wanted to keep around so had to immediately and pointedly mellow and humanize, like Yay a.k.a. Spookybot and probably like five others.)

The comic continues to follow tropes that I call Everyone Is Hot (and half of them are openly attracted to each other), Everyone's Parents Are Remarkably Cool (by the standards of young, socially progressive culture), Everyone Is Woke (in both an ideological and a "young and with-it" sense), and Most People Are LGBT+. I find the first two slightly irritating from time to time and don't mind the last two, but find all of it somewhat unrealistic.

While there is much less dramatic development regarding Faye and Bubbles, I'm glad that Faye remains sober, and that their relationship is still going strong. The profound and powerful love between them is exhibited by the most exquisite writing that the artist has done in all of his work on QC, I would say. Other relationships are going strong, too, and I'm glad. I seem to be asking for more social drama above, but I don't actually care to see loving relationships fall apart. The deep friendship between Faye and Marten is still visible although very much sidelined compared to the comic's old days. The big new relationship is between Clinton and Elliot, and it is adorable from beginning to end (although, see the Everybody Is LGBT+ trope above; there has IMO been a rather unrealistic proportion people convinced they were straight but conveniently discovering they weren't).

And now... there has been a really long story arc about Claire getting offered a job at Cubetown and visiting there with Marten, and all the while, through the very real possibility that Claire would take the job and she and Marten would move away, I have found myself steadfastly rooting against this happening. Because while I complain about there not being enough drama and dissonant changes and it being unrealistic, etc., I don't want that much of a change. The lack of turnover among the social group is absolutely unrealistic in my experience (perhaps partly because I'm a young academic who tends to know other young academics), but I guess it's a part of the escapism that I unreservedly love. Despite my criticisms (and as I've said, it's always easier to expand on criticisms than positive things in reviews!), I've obviously come to care deeply about these characters and their wonderful (if sometimes sappily and implausibly peaceful) dynamic, and I can't imagine the comic being the same with the initial main character and his girlfriend out of the main scene. Plus, their visit to Cubetown has already introduced us to a raft of new characters and... ugh, this comic's world is just getting too big for the comic to hold up.

And (spoiler), as of just the most recent five comics out of the 5000, it looks like Claire is taking the job and this move -- the most drastic change in the QC universe -- is really going to happen. I wonder if the cartoonist draw out the interim period of Marten and Claire preparing to move, have Dora and Tai's wedding as the last major event with them all together, and then retire the comic altogether. (He is certainly not retirement age yet but may have been planning to bring it to a close one of these years.) We'll see, but I can't say I'm thrilled at this very, very recent development. It's hard to imagine what kind of (questionable) content I'll be commenting on if/when the comic reaches its 6000th installment.

[EDIT: I just saw an announcement by the cartoonist that he does not intend to wind QC down, that he initially wanted to get Marten and Claire riding off into the sunset, but now he feels investigated in following both the original setting and the new Cubetown setting. The groaning-under-its-own-weight situation is about to get much worse... *sigh*]

Anyway, here are a few stray observations to finish things off:

The very slight drama that transpired when Clinton and Elliot were trying to feel each other out and there was sort of a romantic interest triangle -ish with Brun is another example of a subcultural norm that has always been baldly present in QC (and that I'm pretty sure I've aimed at describing before), and that I've come to realize is common in poly and queer groups, where people are much more open than I'd be inclined to be about their romantic/sexual interests in each other. Not only that, but it's the way they treat it as something rather matter-of-fact, not in the sense that they don't get worked up over it (they obviously do), but in the sense that it's dealt with sort of... practically? Where everyone is able and expected to just get over their feelings once they find out the party they're interested in isn't reciprocating, because it's not rationally helpful or constructive to hang onto those feelings? I don't know, I'm probably not expressing this well, and I can't judge that norm (it seems like for the most part it would be really nice actually and make for healthy social groups and I'm all for the people who can pull it off), but it's another one of those things that doesn't reflect the way the world really works for me. And I think I bear a grudge against it because it's in line with the fantasies of the anti- Nice Guy activists of a decade ago, who would go around saying, "And he should just get over it and want to still be friends even if I'm not interested in anything else! Otherwise he was just objectifying me the whole time. I'm entitled to the guy who I just spurned to feel like still being friends with me anyway!"

Every single thing about Aurelia as her Mommymilkers avatar is hilarious, the most I've laughed out loud over the last thousand comics. Sure, she's an implausibly "cool" parent, but she's a really enjoyable character.

Bemused nitpicky comment: the cartoonist Jeph Jacques makes a point of making all his characters very much "in the know" about what is "woke"/PC these days (e.g. Renee gently admonishes Brun from using the word "crazy" to describe someone) but appears to have a blind spot with the word "janitor", which I thought had been replaced by "custodian" in socially conscientious circles quite a few years ago.

The term "goblin" comes up a lot. A lot. (Half the time relating to Marigold somehow, but also in a bunch of other contexts.) I didn't entirely notice this until the past few days when I was doing my binge-reread. I'm not sure why Jeph Jacques is so amused by the word "goblin" that he is this fond of using it to refer to characters.

#qc #utopia #social life #drinking culture #queer culture #social drama #nice guy discourse

26 notes · View notes

zahri-melitor · 1 year

Text

Ok, I have now mopped up every extraneous storyline in my reread and I HAVE to start War Drums and War Games (and then I’ll do Identity Crisis afterwards, because goddamn is 2004 the start of the Grim Times)

Last thing I finished today was Nightwing #91-#95, so you know, I have been having some thoughts about Devin Grayson as a writer.

I’m very fond of Devin Grayson’s run on Gotham Knights, putting aside #16-17 and #20-21, the four issues focused on Dick Grayson only. I…don’t think that’s unusual; I think it shows the issue at hand.

I don’t think she’s a bad comics writer. She has objectively written clever, interesting comics that I have enjoyed reading. Most people would say GK Transference and 24/7 are great comic stories. After some thought, I think the issue for many DC fans is primarily that Dick Grayson is her all time fave but her headcanons about Dick long since departed from what other writers were doing with the character and she’s largely a fan of the secret Dick Grayson who lives in her head. And then she was handed the Dick Grayson book to write. It was a situation doomed to cause issues.

I’m not having a go at anyone for having “secret better version of a character who lives in your head”, we’ve all fallen foul to it on occasion. But the test case for whether letting someone who feels this way about a character write their comics is “are the fandom willing to go along with this”. Sometimes they are (please see Wally West’s backstory and supporting cast reappearing by sheer stubbornness of the fans and a handful of writers). Sometimes you’ve just pissed off your entire fandom while writing a whump storyline because you want to torture your favourite before getting to the catharsis (Devin Grayson).

Heck, if you look at what was the probable pitch for Grayson’s run up to #95, it’s…just a break the cutie whump run. Dick’s life falls apart, orchestrated by one of his nemeses, as his entire rogues gallery get the chance to attack him. We’ve all read this before. It’s the plot of Knightfall. The Maxine Michaels plot is supposed to be a Vicky Vale/Vesper Fairchild style story. We’ve seen these stories work and enjoyed them; the major difference is that they had resolutions. Devin Grayson never got to the redemption/catharsis bit of the story. I don’t know why.

The EXECUTION of the whump run however went far too hard in killing off supporting cast members and became egregious in parts (no really, why are we blowing up Haly’s Circus. And the apartment block. Why) and then, you know, #93-95 happened. But the starting idea wasn’t necessarily bad.

There’s even two issues in Grayson’s run up to #95 that I really like (#76 and #81) and I think that entirely comes down to the fact the storytelling picks up immediately when Devin Grayson is focusing on a character OTHER than Dick (Amy Rohrbach and Cass, respectively).

The issue isn’t so much “Devin Grayson is a bad writer”. The issue is that “Devin Grayson should not have been allowed to be Dick Grayson’s primary writer” and she should instead have been given books about characters she’s less obsessed with and worked out her desires to make her fave suffer by writing more fanfic.

#dc #z canon read throughs #the things Devin Grayson has done to characters

17 notes · View notes