#I checked for that myself and even asked other people who actually read comics

[wesavegotham]

I would have more sympathy for people complaining about "Damian being treated as Bruce's only real child because they are related by blood" if Damian didn't literally spent probably over 75% of his existence doing something far away from his father while Bruce doesn't even comment on the fact that he hasn't seen his son in months and has no idea what he's doing.

[dragongirltongue]

New Pinned post <3

Hi there, the name is Zelda, or one of like, 20 other names that may or may not be listed somewhere around here. If you know a name I go by that isn't findable here don't use it. <3

I'm bigender which is made up of girl and fem6oy, as such I use she/her and sometimes he/him pronouns when I'm feeling fem6oy enough <3

I'm in my 30s, not getting more specific than that until I decide it's not true enough to change it, don't try to find my exact age as I don't like sharing that information publicly, I don't even update it on my birthday <3

I'm a polyamorous bisexual voraphile freak and if you're over 18 you're welcome to talk to me about how much of a freak I am. I love to flirt and encourage it. Also happy to share my Other Blog with anyone interested, again as long as you're of age. <3

I'm a film graduate and currently working on doing something with that experience as well as working on a superhero comic and a 2D zelda style game. Feel free to bug me about any of those I love to discuss writing and media and want to encourage media literacy. <3

I'm also an ex-jehovahs witness and as a result I'm hugely into the holiday season in a very against my old god kinda way. Also big into sinning <3

Also I'm like, a dragon in probably an otherkin/thetadelta kinda way, like, it's core to who I am and how I understand myself so yeah. Despite this my fursona is a fox, the dragon in my icon is literally me <3

I also draw sometimes and when I do it'll be posted to @dragongirldrawings but always reblogged here too.

Also I'm a member of a plural system, feel free to check out the rest of the system over here @haven-sys <3

Further on the identity weirdness I'm an imaginary friend for the person who used to inhabit this body, they've been gone for like, over 20 years so it's not really relevant but I have started embracing my nature as a fictional creation, it's comforting.

Btw, if one of my posts containing my typing quirk ends up on your dash I take no responsibility for it. I use it in posts that are for me only and if they happen to resonate with others that's their choice to reblog.

I had intended to set tipping up on my blog for a while but adhd caused me to never get around to it sooo, homebrew tip button on my original posts. Feel free and outright encouraged to steal this idea <3

So yeah that's me, hiii I love you all <3

this post is specifically a6out tum6lr user Zelda dragongirltongue

DNI list under the read more.

lmao imagine if I actually made one of those finally, that's how you'd know I've been replaced with an evil clone or something.

That being said if you're looking at my blog to send me an ask or dm about what someone gets off to please understand unless they're actively hurting someone I rly don't care. I have a lot of ignored and blocked anons about this.

This goes double if the person you're trying to alert me to is trans femme, we don't play that game here, especially given that I know I've been targetted for things as simple as engaging in vore the wrong way for some people or whatever.

Like, I just want to make it clear I rly don't give a fuck what another adult does in the bedroom, I rly don't care if the bedroom happens to include their blog and I rly don't care if they like to flirt about it with other adults on this website.

Also if your pinned post is a callout for anyone about anything it's likely to set off my paranoia around you, which is to say I will not be able to trust you if this is the case even if it's for someone who's actually a danger to a community, like, actively.

Like, this ain't a moral stance or anything, it's a mental health thing. I see that you want to make your first point of contact into a crosshair on someone else I'm gonna be scared you're gonna aim at me next even if it's completely reasonable that you'd never find anything objectionable with me. It scares me and I'm gonna spend every interaction walking on egg shells around you cos what if you're digging for dirt, like, I got no way of knowing.

Anyway as the opening joke implies I don't see any worth in having a list of things to not interact with me over cos the lived experience on this planet is so full of nuance and I've formed deem friendships with people who'd probably have avoided me if I had a DNI and they cared about it.

I think DNIs are dumb but this feels like a space to talk about some general limits on what I'm gonna put up with on this website. I'm just here for a good time with other freaks, anything else is optional. If you want to drag me into your discourse at this point then I guess this is whre I ask you to Do Not Interact. To anyone else, I love yall <3

If you've been directed here after sending an ask my way please apologize for wasting my time [here]

tl;dr DNIs are dumb but don't drag me into your personal grievances with others.

this post is still specifically a6out tum6lr user Zelda dragongirltongue [tip]

[genericpuff]

Hello, I want to say that I enjoy reading Lore Rekindled. I used to try and get into Lore Olympus back when it was starting, because I'm a huge Mythology Nerd, especially when it comes to Greek. But, even though the comic had so much potential, I really hated it. The art style was very inconsistent and messy. Like I see why it was appealing because it was striking and unique for the time on Webtoon, but it strained my eyes because it was hard to tell who was who half the time. The writing was all over the place with so many plot's that were supposedly to exist but were either settled in an anti-climatic way or just never were addressed at all. And the characters... by gosh, they act more like fake celebrities' and cardboard cutouts than their actual counterparts. It's so laughable when people say "I can relate to Persephone" like... the girl doesn't have any set traits, she's just a self-insert with no actual flaws! And the fact LO labels itself as a feminist retelling, while it pits women against each other, labels them as objects for men and vilify them for having justifiable concerns... yeah that is a laugh. And I'm not even gonna touch on the Apollo plot... you know the one. But when I heard about Lore Rekindled from Dazzling Kate on Youtube, I decided to check it out because I figured a fan version could not be any worse than what Rachel herself created. And holy Hades, I can see the un-to god effort and care this comic has! This is the complete opposite of LO: it has consistent character models with stunning backgrounds and art, the plotline makes way more sense and is easy to follow with no unnessearcy subplots, and the characters actually have separate personalities! I know Lore Rekindled is still in it's early stages, but already it has shown more promise and potential than what Rachel has created in the last six years! This is why ghost writers and fanfiction have a special place in my heart, because they care more about the stories than the authors themselves! Seriously, what you are doing is incredible! I really hope you continue with Lore Rekindled and I will be following the story because you have sparked my interest! It takes a special kind of talent to turn something that an individual like myself loathes, into a piece of work that I can find joy and entertainment in.

On that note, because I really love your story so far, I wanted to ask your permission on something. I have a YouTube channel, it's a small one but I do a bunch of things there like voice dubs, reviews, theorizes, and writing advice. So if it is alright with you, would it be okay if I could do a review of your Lore Rekindled Series and maybe potentially do a comic dub of the story as well? I'll be sure to credit you, I just want people to see this story that you worked hard on.

Ahhh I'm so glad you like it! Everything you mentioned about LO's missed or lost potential was exactly why I set out to make Rekindled, so it always brings me so much joy when people tell me it connected with them, means I gotta be doing at least something right LOL Though I've had to adjust Rekindled's update schedule to make room for other projects and priorities in my life, there's still loads left with it that I wanna tackle.

If you wanna do a review or any sort of video content with it, by all means! DazzlingKate's review took me by surprise (in a good way) because I had no idea it was happening until someone linked me to it after it was posted haha It's a little nerve-wracking sometimes to see it breach outside of Tumblr, but so far all the occasions of such have been generally fair game without any issues so I don't see why not! ~ <3

Thank you again, I hope Rekindled continues to entertain you and bring you joy ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

[ariadnaltos]

ND Stevenson interview about She-Ra and animation in Celsius 232 (2022)

This post is a transcribe of second interview/talk made to ND Stevenson during the Celsius 232, a multimedia festival about fantasy, scifi and horror genres celebrated in Avilés, a city in the North of Spain. The interview was about She-Ra and The Princesses Of Power. There was another interview about his comics that I attended, but I couldn't find recordings of that one. In this interview ND talked about topics such as Catra's choices, toxic relationships, Nimona's film adaptation and Lumberjanes' TV adaptation. He also answered questions from the public.

Click on Keep reading to read the whole interview!

Thanks to Comic Astur for recording the interview. They have another interviews during Celsius 232 in their channel, both to Spanish and non-Spanish authors. So check it out!

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This post is being released on Christmas day in Spain, so I think it's a good moment to make a gift to the SPOP fandom. 🎁🎄

I don't do professional trancribes, I just want to share this interview. I love Celsius 232 and hearing ND Stevenson in person was a great experience. I want to share this with international fans. The interview is in a mix of Spanish and English, so I'll translate the Spanish parts (and also use some of Diego's translations that you can hear in the video) and I'll transcribe everything in English. I'll also add some notes here and there about the interview.

The auditorium opened some minutes before the beggining of the talk. It was almost full. There were some cosplayers of She-Ra, Adora, Catra and even one cosplayed as Finn, Adora and Catra's post-canon child. There was also a baby cosplayed as She-Ra (baby She-Ra!!). Some people brought with them pride flags because of the series nature. 🏳‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ When ND Stevenson entered the auditorium everyone started clapping.

In the scenario, as you can see in the video, there were three people. ND Stevenson (center), Jorge Iván Argiz (left, interviewer) and Diego García (right, interpreter). Jorge Iván did the questions while Diego translated everything to ND and then to the public.

The interviewer started the talk remembering that ND Stevenson will come back to Celsius next year, for Celsius 2023, and he also claimed the importance of animation. Then, he asked his first question:

Interviewer: When you make a comic you have full control. You have a blank paper or a screen. You have your pen and you can do wathever you want. However, when doing an animation film, even if it has a main creative, it's a hugely collective work. How it was your first experience? How it was entering the animation industry and realizing that it's a huge teamwork effort?

ND Stevenson: Getting into animation was actually kind of an accident for me. I didn't plan to go in that direction. When I started out writing comics I thought of myself as an artist first before I was a writer. And so getting hired as a writer in animation was kind of a surprise for me. And I wasn't sure if it was something I was going to stay with. But my first job was amazing. It was working for Craig McCracken who did Powerpuff Girls and a lot of other stuff that defined my childhood and other people's childhoods. It was a very cool job to work with him.

Thinking of myself as a writer... it took me a while to accept that. But also, the collaboration of animation was what made me fall in love with animation. I also had always loved animation as a kid. Sneaking into my parents room where the TV was, when they were out of the house, to watch Teen Titans, which was my favorite show. To be behind the scenes, to be able to share this world that we were building together with the rest of the crew, that was... I immediately became addicted to that.

To write a comic it is all you. And unexpected things still happen but it all comes from your own brain, you own hands. With animation, everybody has a little piece of that world. And so, I would look over people's shoulders and ask to be in meetings that I wasn't technically a part of, just because I wanted to know everything and see everything. And so that is what made me fall in love with animation and that's what eventually lead me to make She-Ra.

Interviewer: Now we're going to talk about She-Ra. She-Ra as a character already existed, created as a base for a series of toys. I think that it started in 1985 and it was a show with near a hundred episodes. She-Ras was a twin sister to He-Man and she had a similar story to him, it was kind of complementary. But you made something completely new with this character and this universe. This seems wonderful to me. The first example already appears in the tittle [of the show]. The original series was called She-Ra Princess of Power. But here we're talking about She-Ra and The Princesses of Power. This collaborative spirit that you liked a lot when making animation shows was translated to the animation series. I imagine that this was the first decision [that you made], to bring a more complete arc for characters and to create not just one, but multiple princesses of power.

ND Stevenson: Yeah, the show ended up being- it was about teamwork. It's not just what the show was about, it's also the way in which we made it. It was a show that was made under a lot of pressure, not just because of She-Ra, but because we didn't have the biggest budget and we didn't have the longest timeline for making it. And so it was really something that if we were going to pull it off, we had to rely on each other to do it. And so that was something that really brought us together.

But that show, taking it from being- I hadn't watched the show myself [before], the original show from the 80s [when I was] growing up. But I loved it when I watched it [as an adult]. I had a lot of love in my heart for that show. Trying to pay that off and take that so it could appeal to new fans as well and still make old fans happy was always the line to find and walk. Taking it from one princess of power to an entire team of princesses who are very powerful and making it more about that, about the group instead about the one individual. That was something that was very important for us to do. Because it was so personal for us, with how the show was being made, because we were so close to each other. It was important to show that aspect of friendship and teamwork, and relationships in general. And love in every form. That was our inspiration behind that aspect of the show.

Interviewer: I would like to know if from the beggining it was always clear that the series was going to have that format and that number of seasons. The first season was a presentation of the princesses, almost one per episode. For me the series starts having more pace when each episode develops these stories that connect with each other. I would like to know if the series was already thought like that or if after season one you still had freedom to make changes.

ND Stevenson: The production of the show was actually pretty unsual in animation. The show had already been greenlit for 26 episodes before I was even hired for the show. They just bought the rights to She-Ra and they knew that Netflix had already ordered the first season. They also knew that they wanted to do 52 episodes total. So when I was hired it was my job to pitch that second season. And so, when I pitched the show, I'm kind of a wordy person, so my pitch was supposed to be like 20 minutes and it was like over an hour [in the end]. And I was lucky that the people I was pitching to were receptive and interested, but I pitched all 52 episodes. That is part of why it was so long, because I wanted to have this conception of it.

Some things stayed the same and some things changed over time, but we had certain ideas that stayed the whole time. For example, an early idea was that Catra was going to get a promotion at the end of every season and move further up the ranks. And also she was going to betray somebody in each season. That really ended up in the show. She just keeps kind of working her way up the ranks and eventually decides that she's out of there, going back to Adora. That was something that stayed true over time, but there were some things that we found along the way. A lot of things were really unexpected. At the very least, it was very helpful to have those broad strokes figured out from the beggining. I'm glad they didn't just cut me off after 20 minutes of talking cause that would be embarrasing *laughs*.

Interviewer: One of the best things that has happened to YA narrative is the shift from just entertainment and fun spirit to topics that were forbidden before. This change probably happened because of the new young people creating new stuff for young audiences. Some of this topics are abuse, bullying, mental health... She-Ra is about some of these topics, toxic relationships are very present in the show. There are multiple cases. It has been talked a lot about the relationship between Adora and Catra, but the relationship between Catra and Scorpia is also another perfect example of a toxic relationship. Something that someone denies, although everybody is warning them. I would like to know more about these messages that can make the audience think about their own relationships. Tell us about it.

ND Stevenson: I'm of the believe that it's important just not to see representation of good behaviour and role models that we can model ourselves on. But is also, I think, a good thing to see representation of characters making the wrong choices and doing the wrong thing. And Catra is defined by that. This was [something that] the crew [asked about as well]. People would come and they'd be like: "so, you told me that she's gonna join the good guys again, right? She'll be OK? When is that going to happen?" And people started to stop believing me that it was going to happen.

AJ, who voices the character, I would [tell her] "We have a big run for you today, Catra is going to do something new, but I promise that she's going to be OK in the end". And she'll be like: "yeah, sure, you say that every time". But I think that's why [Catra] was very beloved among the crew and by me. She's a character who kind of consistently always makes the wrong choices. And it can be so frustrating. Because you'll yell at her at just be like: "OMG, you know you don't want that, why can't you just do the right thing?". And that, I think, in it's own way can be something that also tells us how to make decisions ourselves. So when you see somebody who we sometimes want to scream [at], sometimes we're compelled to do things that make us a bad friend or bad people. And it's important, I think, to know the consequences of those wrong decisions.

Catra is someone who expresses those things and my hope is that it is cathartic in it's own way, but it's also a little bit of a cautionary tell. She ends up alone at the end, without any friends. And that's the consequences of her actions. But then it's also something that it's- you know, there's nothing you can't come back from. There are things that if you work, if you make yourself vulnerable and open yourself up and try to make amends for your mistakes, it is possible to come back. That was something that was very important for us to show. It's my believe that it's important to see characters, specially female characters, making those bad decisions. We found it cathartic, and I hope that it was cathartic for others as well.

Interviewer: Now two short questions about the animation. First, it is traditional animation, or at least it looks like it, with some touches of CG here and there. I wanted to know if it was a conscious decision so the show would look like it was intended, or if it was because of the low budget and short production time which you said you had.

The second question is about the aesthetic of the ancient buildings. It makes me think about an illustrator called Roger Dean. I don't know if it's by chance or if it was an inspiration for this aesthetic.

*a fly 🪰 flies near the interviewer and he tries to hit it*

ND Stevenson: We had an option on pursuing 3D animation as well. It was something that was done at this studio I was at, at DreamWorks, pretty often. But it was also for an epic... There's a fly!! 🪰

*the interviewer and translator agree and everybody laughs* There's a fly in my... flying over and over... 🪰

Yeah, for epic action scifi fantasy it is harder, it's more expensive to do CG animation. And you have fewer resources. One thing that happens is that the characters can't go to many places because every room and setting has to be build in three dimensions. My friends who are writers working on shows in 3D have limitations of what they can use. They have a set number of characters and a set number of locations, which is true in hand-drawn as well, but less so. You don't have to design the whole thing if you'll only going to see it from one angle.

So that was a lot of the reason of just what was posible with the show. But also, I thought it was important because She-Ra was one of the last shows in the 80s animated in the US, before everything moved overseas to be animated in South Korea and Canada, France and Ireland. It felt important to stay true to the original and the hand-drawn look of the original.

As for Roger Dean, that was definitely one of my inspirations. You have very sharp eye! That very epic... The science fiction illustrations of the 70s and 80s that you would see on the cover of a paperback... That is how I wanted the world to feel. But populated by characters who felt a bit newer. As a kid, I always loved this covers because you would see these floating rocks or the sky with dozens of planets and moons. I wanted to capture that feeling. It always sparked my imagination to see those illsutrations and I wanted to capture that in the show.

Interviewer: Before starting with the questions of the public I have to ask about the adaptation of Nimona into a film, as well as Lumberjanes' TV adaptation. Tell us a little bit about both projects.

ND Stevenson: You're gonna see the Nimona movie early next year, I think february or march. *big applause from the public* So get excited because I just saw the newest cut and it has a lot of the animation. I've seen the board drawings for a while, but I started to get the animation and it is completely surreal to see really dumb drawings that I made as a teenager like, suddenly being executed in three dimensions and it's gorgeous and the style is amazing. So I'm very excited for everyone to see it.

And Lumberjanes is still in the development period. This is a little more standard. I said that She-Ra was unsual in the animation industry and part of that is that the development happened very very quickly. Less than a year. For most animated projects it takes longer than that. So on Lumberjanes we are still on the development phase. We haven't launched into the actual production of the show yet. It's still on the writing and creating the look of the show, finding a studio and everything like that. I think that I'll hopefully have more news about it soon for you. And I think that it's going to be also really cool. So... yeah. *applause*

Interviewer: Great. (To the public) Any questions?

#1 audience question: 1) I heard some rumors that you had trouble with Netflix because the series did not have as much advertisement as they wanted, the low-budget... That was the case? 2) Would you be interested to start working for other platforms like Amazon?

ND Stevenson: Something that not many people know it's that I actually haven't worked for Netflix. I created She-Ra as the show that you saw on Netflix, but I made it at DreamWorks. DreamWorks is it's own animation studio and they had a deal with Netflix that Netflix would stream the shows that DreamWorks was producing. So that was the deal. That's different now. They still do co-productions with DreamWorks, but they [Netflix] created their own animation studio after a year or so after I started working on She-Ra. So actually I didn't have much interaction with Netflix at all. I didn't get notes from them. I didn't know my executives there personally... Actually, I did, but... One of my executives was actually a good friend of mine. But I didn't actually have meetings with Netflix in any way.

If there's rumors about being trouble with Netflix it's certainly not in any kind of working relationship way. They are pretty mysteryous, they guard their algorithm pretty closely. But yeah, that was my experience with Netflix. For me it was very positive. I can't speak any more to what their reaction towards the show was because we were in different places. Hope that answers that.

I'm not currently working with Amazon, but that's something that is definitely... it's pretty common in animation to kind of move around from studio to studio. So it's definitely posible.

#2 audience question: I'm almost 30 so I'm a bit old for the She-Ra target audience, but me and my friend loved it because there is a lot of queer representation. For me and my friend that is very important. I was wondering how it felt because we're more of less of the same age, so we've grown up with similar cartoons and there was nothing that showed you what queer means. We didn't really see ourselves in mainstream shows. I was wondering how it felt to put for the queer community out there this clear representation.

ND Stevenson: It was obviously pretty important for me in a personal level. But another thing that I don't know if that many people know it's that when I got the job I wasn't out yet as gay. So it was certainly not something... Honestly, the show is probably responsible for making me way gayer, just working on it. *everybody laughs*

But it was something very important to me, just in the world of the show, you know? For me, it's always queer characters, they're always on the front of what I make, even before I was out. But also it's something that is defined by the show itself, what makes the world feel more alive. So I felt that having very fluid gender expression was an important par of the show. Because honestly, the original show has fairly fluid gender. He-Man wears pink and purple in his clothes and then wears a furry diaper when he transforms as He-Man. All the characters are wearing tights and belly shirts and men and women, there're not non-binary people in the original show, but it makes sense for us that there would be. So there's something for me that made the world feel more alive. And again, rainbows and drag queen princesses were such a big part of the original that it just makes sense to [have them] and it made our world feel bigger and more expansive. So that was a lot of my thinking behind it, and sometimes it was an easy sell I think. We were pleasantly surprised that the studio would be very receptive for Bow to have two dads. And Double Trouble, we were very excited about that and very supportive of hiring a non-binary voice actor.

And then there were other things that were a harder sell. I got on the phone with a lot of different people for the Adora and Catra relatioship and had to pitch it a bunch of different times to different people. Got a few notes at first. And then, you know, appealed it, and then the noes turned into yeses. And I still didn't believed it until I was actually watching the final season on Netflix. I didn't believed it'd really happen. But it did so, yeah, that was really cool.

*when the interpreter was translating this answer by ND he tried to hit the fly 🪰 and everybody laughed and applaud, it was really funny*

Interviewer: (To the public) One last question with a short answer?

#3 audience question: In the series there's a lot of characters. I wanted to ask who do you relate to the most?

ND Stevenson: I think all the characters have little bits of me and the rest of the crew. I think almost every character is sort of- there's someone on the crew who identified with them really strongly and that person became more expert on the character. So we have someone who strongly identified with Entrapta, or Tecnia as you said... (Tecnia is the name of Entrapta in the Spanish dub <3) I forget they have different names sometimes. Which is a great name, Tecnia is a great name! *public laughs* But yeah. Almost all of the characters had some counterpart among the crew.

For me, I think that I sort of related the most to a tie between Adora, Catra and Glimmer. One of the things I struggled with on the show was that I was very young when I was hired and I'd never been a manager before. And I mostly just worked on my own stuff and so, having to suddenly become a leader was a thing that I found very difficult and very scary. Like, I really really wanted to do a good job. I wanted everyone on the crew to be taken care of. And it was very difficult and terrifying. That's something that I think all three of those characters deal with in different ways.

Glimmer unexpectedly becomes the new queen. Adora changes sides and suddenly has to deal with all the guilt of having been on the bad guys side before. And Catra has this drive and this ambition, but she also starts to fall apart the higher up the ladder she moves.

I put a lot of those feelings into the characters. With Glimmer there's an episode where she can't go on missions anymore with Bow and Adora because she needs to stay and go to meetings, which was like my everyday. Everyone's going to do something fun and I have to be in a meeting, I can't hang out with [other crew members]. Like Adora in the episode where they play D&D and she keeps just being like: "no no NO, we're all gonna die and everything is gonna go wrong" and she's trying to anticipate every possible way it could go wrong. That was a lot of like, you know, having to conceptualize and keep consistent a story that was going to be told in such a long period of time, with such a large crew of people. That was how my brain felt a lot of the time. A lot of these feelings were poured into she show through the characters. Those are the characters that I think I have the strongest connection to.

(ND is, in fact, wordy, so it wasn't a short answer LOL)

Interviewer: There are big threats and the world needs to be saved a lot of times, and at the same time what you're woried the most is if the characters will recover their friendship... What's going to happen next? Someone will pay attention to Scorpia? *everybody laughs* This shows us something that happens in our lifes as well, that a big event can change you as much as an event that may seem small. This series also shows us that being different is cool, being the same as everyone else can be pretty boring. Being different can be even desirable. ND said that at the beggining he started working with someone who changed his life and who gave him a show such as The Powerpuff Girls, and I anticipate to him that right now, very very soon, there will be people that will say "I'm working for ND Stevenson, who changed my life thanks to She-Ra and his other works". To make easier our wait for the next year [Celsius 2023], when he comes back to Avilés, we're gonna say goodbye to him with a very very strong applause.

*all the public applauses, ND does a heart shape with his hands 🫶 He also thanked the Celsius 232 organizers and the public for coming*

This interview was done on Friday 22nd, july 2022. ND Stevenson made another talk/interview the day before. After that one talk I went to the signing and got my copy of Nimona signed. He was really nice and we could talk with him a little bit. He seemed really happy to visit this event in Spain and I'm really excited to see him next year. At that time the Nimona movie will be out, so I'm sure that we'll be able to know more about it and his future projects!

Photo with ND Stevenson during the book signing on Thursday. My boyfriend and I went together. We both love Stevenson's stories. <3

Thanks to ND Stevenson for coming to Spain and to Celsius 232!! I've been going every year to this event since 2018 and they always have great authors and the festival is really nice. I've learned a lot of stuff thanks to this festival and with talks like this one that ND made. The event is mostly about books and literature, but as you can see other forms of media are in Celsius 232 as well.

That's all! Thank you so much for reading this whole thing. I hope that it was interesting. <3

[kaiyobi]

i need u to tell me everything about mha, i know,,, nothing

unprompted.

it's a shonen jump battle-manga so there's lots of fights, powers, lore dumping, family drama, quite a few shonen tropes that are pretty tiring but not enough to take you out of it. it's long but it seems like it's not going to go past 450 chapters and most every arc will connect with each other pretty alright. The characters and their quirks aka superpowers are very attachable and all the villains that get some screentime aren't too bad with their bg's! There's lots of mysteries and questions to ask and answer while reading through and subsequent re-reads make for interesting connections. though, the power scaling and info can get kinda wordy? I expect it when reading shonen now but it's not so bad there

the art is to die for, I mean the author is incredibly talented and you can see his improvements for each chapter. posing, storytelling, facial expressions, the unique designs of characters and avoiding the 'same face syndrome' that a lot of authors have make it easier to remember who's who, everyone is very memorable and attractive to look at ; honestly I think every design in mha has their charms to them, even the ones you hate. a downside is that some of the female designs look a bit too adult and can be uncomfortable to look at for certain frames ( creati, toga, hagakure ) that make you say 'was that necessary???' the answer is 'no' but it's a total speedbump

some things are very frustrating when dealing with a few characters at first ( bakugo, mineta, endeavor, etc etc, some people even have an issue with deku ) but all of them have some depth to them at certain points that help you to understand their complexity. though, mineta is the stereotypical 'pervy schoolboy' and its super annoying but he does get better lmao a little bit.

It actually seems to be almost over. seems to be. this is shonen jump and if I know that magazine like I do then I know there will be maybe 4-10-ish chapters left until it's done. Or it could go the way of dragonballz and naruto-shippuden and have a sequel that runs another 400 chapters! Who knows, but I do know i've enjoyed myself reading and re-reading and watching the anime ( though I think watching anime nowadays is kind of a slog ) and I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends.

it's like, comic-books but make it manga. a lot of american comic references if you've read them like I have.

the main mc? adorable. painful. you want to root for him and have him figure things out and be successful, he's great, like I genuinely love him. deuteragonist? shigaraki? spectacular. interesting. brilliantly creepy and smart design when certain things are revealed. the main villain??? Oh my, dastardly is the only thing I can call him. he plays a role in everything. like the final villain of a story he's very memorable.

check it out if you have the time, give it a go, the first season of the anime is only 13 episodes but i'd recommend finding the manga and appreciating the art he gives cause it's so worth it. i didnt expect it but I did cry a few times when reading, especially for toya and eri's stories. and as with most fandoms, people tend to steer clear of it since. you know. it's more geared to teenagers, stick to me and i'll protect you

[writing-for-life]

Sandman Master Post and Intro

Hi, I’m so glad you’re here! I organised the links and tags to all my stuff for you to make it easier to find your way around my blog.

I love getting asks about all of the below, so see this as an encouragement to slide into my inbox…

[For quick reference:]

[The Ultimate Sandman Character Tag List]

[The Women of the Sandman Tag List]

Ordered by topics (recommended):

Sandman Meta-Analysis (general tag. For a slightly less chaotic take, I have also grouped them into literary/conceptual/psychological, musical and art for you, and I definitely recommend perusing both links and the tag)

Sandman Fics (m/f and f/f, both OC and canon pairings) & Poems

Sandman Art (general tag. I have also grouped them into my own and that of others, with a separate tag for official Sandman artists)

Sandman March Mania was an event we specifically ran for the comics art lovers, so check it out

Sparkle Content Curation (a not-quite-serious collection of Dream/Morpheus thirst-trap fan-art and unhinged posts). Please also peruse the tags #contraceptive sparkles, #glitter herpes and #murphy and his cool hat if this hell-site has left you in a state of being desperate for laughs

On that note: I’m also Dream’s Therapist. I think we all agree he needs one.

Sometimes, I get Gaiman’d and it takes me ages to find the way through my notes again. And on that proverbial note: Never any bad intentions if it takes a while to get back to you, or if I even forget (shout at me if I do!). I appreciate everyone who is here and engages, whether we’re mutuals or not.

Personal Intro (who am I, and what am I up to when I don’t waste time on Tumblr) under the cut

Want to know who I am? Read on…

Once there was a girl with so many words, so many images, so many songs in her head that had no place to go. So she decided some of them will just go here…

Well, that sounds a bit contrived, but it’s not entirely untrue. Apart from the “girl”-part, because I’m at the younger end of Gen X. Or the “no place to go”-part, because some of my work actually *did* go places. Just not the stuff I decided to put on here…

Which is mostly Sandman stuff right now, let’s be honest (I fell in love with it when I was 16, and it still has a tight grip on me now). And the fact that it’s a wild mix between my metas, my fanfic and a bit of my doodling already shows the pull in different directions I have experienced for most of my life:

I’ve been a writer since my teenage years, and in another life, I’d maybe have more faith in myself, and writing would be all I’d do. Or maybe not, since I can never just do one thing for too long. Nevertheless, one of my teachers in high school was convinced I needed to tell stories to be happy and warned me about a career in science. Back then, I thought he was overly dramatic. Looking back on it, I sometimes think he had a point.

I’ve worked in science/academia, creative/performing arts and mental health. I guess I’m just a multi-hyphenate who can’t make up her mind what she wants to do with her life, so she tries to do it all and ends up burned out half of the time.

For now, I support people who go through really terrible stuff, and it means the world to me. But it is equally hard and sometimes soul-destroying. Hence, I’ve stopped working for our health service and focus more on my writing these days (both fiction and non-fiction) while still seeing a particular subset of clients privately, but on a much more manageable scale that also takes my own well-being into consideration. You can’t pour from an empty cup…

I’m bilingual and write most of my non-fiction in English and my fiction in my (what I perceive as stronger) other language. But I write fanfic exclusively in English because I want to separate it from my other writing: Somewhere along the way, I managed to publish a few novels under a pen name, and only a select few people know about it. And I intend to keep it that way.

My partner (a graphic artist) thinks I should do more with my art, but I feel everything about it is wrong, and I’m not formally trained. I used to draw much more (mostly pencil and ink), but between working and having a family, something had to give, and if I have to choose, writing always comes first. But I doodle and experiment a lot in Procreate because it’s quicker, and it usually helps me when I procrastinate on my writing. I drop the odd drawing in here (like my avatar), but I don’t see myself as a fine artist, and I’m in perpetual awe of the fanart and talent I see on here.

I also compose and still work as a musician sometimes. As you can tell from the one line devoted to it, performing isn’t really that important to me anymore. However, music is. I have a small adjunct teaching gig at a University that ties in with both performance and psychology. So at this stage of my life, this particular area has become more about giving back.

Nothing I put on here is intended to ever be published in “real” life (maybe that’s odd, because this is still real life, after all). This is just an account for unapologetically being me, unfiltered, with all my hyperfixations—and undoubtedly some pointless shitposts just for fun…

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Hello, I read and love your Chained Series but only now noticed the Major Character Death tag on the second one, since I moved from part 1 to part 2 without checking the tags/summary. I normally really really really do not touch Major Character Death, it just... well it just makes me really sad in a way i don't enjoy, to keep it brief, even when it's plot or story wise fulfilling a purpose.

This is in no way me asking you not to do it, it's your story, and that's how it should be!

But I was hoping if you'd be willing to give me some information around the MCD, who for example (or if this'll straight up be a bad ending overall), so I can emotionally brace myself because I really don't want to stop reading the fic, because it's really good, but going further into it blind feels daunting, in a way. I will of course not relay anything regarding the fic to others, that you might tell me (since idk how familiar you are with tumblr: there is a way to respond to asks privately in the ask-post settings, if you prefer).

If you're not happy doing this I completely understand, it's your story, but i figured it's worth asking.

I hope you have a nice day, and that the writing will be easy 👌

I would be quite happy to explain what I've got planed with that! I deliberately read spoilers for similar reasons all the time; I totally understand wanting to be forewarned and forearmed. Also I'm just happy to ramble about my fic lol :3 If ya gotta drop it, no worries, glad you enjoyed the first sections and I don't mind anyone takin care of themselves

You're probably not the only one who'd want to know so I'll just put all the spoilers in a read more:

First of all, I don't consider this to be a particularly dark story (though granted I don't consider Death Note to be a particularly dark story so uh your mileage may vary) nor do I see it ending in tragedy.

The planned deaths:

The Joker - So, he's not really a main character in this fic, in fact, he might not even get speaking lines, I'm unsure right now, but he's major in the comics so I'm counting it. It's not going to happen for a VERY long time but it is so pivotal to the functioning of a main emotional plotline that I don't know how I'd write around changing my mind about this one.

Captain Boomerang - Like the Joker, I'm not really even sure he'll get speaking lines, but he's important enough to Tim's other canon stories he makes the cut. Unlike the Joker, I don't actually know if he's going to die yet! At the end of Red Robin Tim tries to kill him but fails. I don't know if my older Tim will do it, but I am certain he'll go at least halfway through a second similar plan. Much will hinge on what I read of his interactions with Huntress.

Other assorted villains, such as Darkseid and the Batman Who Laughs - This will depend a lot on, again, my reading of how Tim interacts with the kind of violence Huntress brings to the table. It also depends a lot on how a few in-fic decisions shake out. Tim has to make the decision as to whether or not they kill more people than just the ones on his small list from the first fic and I've got a more solid idea for if he does than if he doesn't.

Roy Harper (and a few other Heroes) - He's not gonna stay dead though, none of them are. So, due to hesitance and fear of fucking shit up Jason and Tim aren't going to make some key decisions in time to prevent the whole "Heroes in Crisis" plotline from happening. Once they learn of this they are immediately going to start doing mad science to figure out how to resurrect people safely. And, of course, they have the power to time travel.

Jason Todd... Kinda. - An increasingly large and loud elephant in the room is gonna be the fact that Jason doesn't have to have died. Ever. In any timeline.

Tim could save him.

But of course that would mean rewriting the Jason he knows out of existence. There really isn't a clear cut moral equivalent to doing this? But I feel emotionally it would count as this/our Jason dying.

On the other hand if Tim refuses, he is deeply morally responsible for Jason's actual already happened death... but will have saved our Jason's existence.

Tim's decision of whether or not to save Jason's child self is THE emotional climax of the story. One of the main purposes of Chapter 12 was foreshadowing how each character will react to this very situation.

I can't put another read more, so if knowing the two options is good enough for you turn back now! And if you wanna know what Tim's decision is (I sure would!) scroll passed the two big pictures!

Tim refuses to save Jason's childhood self. He loves this Jason too much to emotionally withstand losing him. I have had this story beat and the resulting fallout planned for absolute ages and I'm 100% certain on this one. Frankly, timeline erasing the Jason we know and love would make ME cry too much to keep writing it lmao, so this one I can guarantee.

[tmmyhug]

bestie (nicest way possible) as someone who was new to the fandom last September I wouldn’t recommend making a sideblog and like talking about comics/batfam/etc if you haven’t read the comics? people get really touchy about that, because fanfic interpretation tend to be really far from how characters are in canon (and character relationships get butchered and softened and straight up invented for plot, which once again, creative liberty + that can be fun but often tends to be incredibly ooc & excludes women (cass, helena, steph, etc) or poc (duke (though his case is different considering when he was introduced), cass, damian’s poc but isn’t really ignored) in favor of white boys (jason especially, who shows up far later than said women & isn’t really close to the fam yet fandom tends to give him their relationships with the family) so like...you’ll probably be mostly wrong and people are rather unforgiving about that because they’re tired of people that haven’t read comics talking about the characters (incorrectly) while refusing to interact w/ source material, and it’s a huge problem & very prevalent so I can’t really blame them? idk I just don’t think it’s a good idea unless you want to reblog just art and stuff, which is fine! but like...everything's really confusing w/out proper research if you want to get into the fandom (everything post-reboot/post-2011 is largely ignored unless said otherwise because the reboot was so awful), so i just want to point that out! but I don’t want to be mean, just some advice :) (if you ever change your mind about comics, just give the say so! we’re (and i) am very glad to help you out with what to read and in what order, and take it from someone who was in your position six months ago, they are truly really fun!) /gen /nm

not to worry my friend this sounds pretty much exactly like the dsmp experience where new people never properly interacted with the canon content and the fanon got more and more bastardized over time as a result and everyone got touchy abt it. including me . you could say im familiar . im just on the other side now (oblivious newbie) which should be interesting. i have no intention of treading on anyone’s toes or making assumptions or even talking abt the characters with any sort of authority. if i do make a sideblog it’ll be just to reblog art n stuff.

plus i am ah. very aware that the fanon im consuming is an extremely warped perspective of the actual comics. and with how many different “canons” there are i’m sure it’s a mess. at least in dsmp we could always point back to just the og streams. here i’m gathering there’s 174958637 comics + 284871 writers + movies + live action AND animated tv shows + multiple video games and they ALL have intersecting characters and possible canons it’s giving me a headache just thinking abt it dear lord

so yeah. i’m perfectly happy sequestering myself in an oblivious fanon corner and not claiming to know anything. normally for a new fandom i would seek out the full source material and examine it thoroughly but theres just. too much. and i also just don’t enjoy reading comics. at least not the superhero ones. (i think the art doesn’t appeal to me? and something about the combination of written word and still visual art like. rankles at my sense of pacing and story <- just guessing though) i did watch the under the red hood movie tjough and it was cool so i may do more of those!

i’m glad you said you like talking abt this cause i just wrote you a whole essay lol. if i may ask do you know of any good fanon/fanfic content i could check out that stays mostly true to the comics canon? i’m curious ! but regardless thank you for the very nice message and warning it’s appreciated mwah

[shyspider]

I was never really interested in transformers but after reading your fics I'm HOOKED. so I wanted to familiarize myself with the lore and did some light research and now I want to watch the shows, the problem is that I only have access to : transformers prime, transformers rescue bots, transformers robots in disguise, the transformers the movie and transformers war for cybertron(only 1 season for this one)

Idk if these are even connected or relevant lol but these are all i have 😔

could you maybe tell me in what order to watch them in? I figured you would be able to help me 🙏

(also are the movies worth watching? are they a whole another thing?)

Also I LOVE LOVE your fics they're the only thing keeping me alive and entertained so far. adore your writing it's so well structured!!you're an amazing writer 🤍

Let me just yell to anyone scrolling by to REBLOG with any streaming sites you may know that would have more Transformer content.

Never in my life have I ever expected to get an ask like this. I am absolutely SHOOK. Like, I would have never thought anyone who wasn't deep into Transformers would bother to read my work, but here you are, in my inbox, asking for my opinion on what to watch.

Before I get into it, Thank you so much! This is quite the compliment and I'm getting all bashful in my own home. Reccs below cut...

I am just, hands on my face staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to recommend first. You sound like you have all the same stuff I do. I'll try my best not to overwhelm you.

First thing I'm going to recommend, that you haven't mentioned, is COMICS. My fic is based in the IDW universe. The stories are geared for an older audience, and the Lost Light series will make you cry. Get yourself an ad blocker, and check out readcomiconline.li/. You may be overwhelmed at first, but IDW published 'The IDW Collection' for your reading ease. I linked the name if you want to check it out.

As for what to watch... everyone will have different opinions, so don't let what I say stop you from checking out what you want or skipping. I listed them in the order I personally would watch them in.

Transformers Prime: Watched it. Highly recommend. Has some dark themes, battles gritty, things get tense. Well placed humor. Good story.

TF: RID: Watched it. Less cute and chill, but still wholesome. Tries to be funny, but most of the story is great to follow, and it actually ties in with Prime and Rescue Bots.

TF Rescue bots: Watched it. Cute, chill, wholesome. Recommend if you just want something nice to watch, especially with little ones around. That island has sure seen some shit.

War For Cybertron: Watched it. It wasn't terrible. Its good if you want a version of the story of the war BEFORE they come to Earth. It's dark, gritty, and dystopian. It doesn't really tie into the others previously mentioned.

Transformers (Bayverse): Watched it. I know a lot of people shit on bayverse but I'll watch anything with Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, any day. Its good in some aspects and bad in many others. The movies are their own universe.

One thing I've noticed you didn't mention is a lot of the shows available on youtube: - You've got season 1 of the original G1 series - animation mistakes and all. - There's the very awesome, very retro, 80s transformer movie. I have the music on my playlist. - There's the Combiner Wars. Haven't seen it. Its in my watchlist - Cyberverse is a favorite with many. I haven't seen much of it, but plan to. Very short episodes, so if you want to consume content in short doses, this could be the one for you. I think it gets a little dark, but I'm not sure.

I hoped I answered well enough <3 Have fun and enjoy!

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog Polaris Hamburg! - 14. October 2023

As another rather local-ish convention I decided to check out the Polaris in Hamburg this year. It's a travel of 2 hours by train but a rather convienent route with only changing trains once and I was in Hamburg quite often, therefore Ticket was booked for a day quickly even though I was going there alone with not knowing anyone there. I had some brief contacts who were supposed to be there but didn't end up meeting.

For the full day:

It started super early for me as - like mentioned - the travel time by train was 2 hours and I wanted to get there quite early as autumn break just started and I feared the trains would be filled to the brim (which would be turn out to be true later on). The overall ride was quite relaxing, I had time to read further into the book I started earlier this year. I went into the train in full cosplay as I didn't want to change later on, I didn't want to travel with a wig head and all that.

As I arrived in Hamburg gladly the dear mahein.design (insta) had spotted me in the train before and asked if we would go to the Convention location together, I was full on lost Allen mode and agreed. We took another train and walked a bit. Lost each other then though as he had to change into his cosplay attire and go through the weapony check, I just had Timcampy with me.

The first (of two) Halls I went to was the one with Muchi Markt - the food theme was all over here, you had different food vendors like Bubble Tea, Japanese Crepe etc, also the fitting stage to go with different workshops/events.

Then Valdhaym a roleplay/tabletop based part of the hall, merging with Neo Taki which had also a bigger stage for Quiz and Anime themed presentations. All over you had TONS of artists showcasing their work, no matter which themes, Anime, Manga, Series, Comic, Cute etc. you had different other Content Creators and Photographers, even a Stage for Just Dance performances, vendors with merchandise and pottery. it surely was a lot. Also there was the possibility to book Meet&Greets with bigger names of the german YouTube/Twich Community.

What I really loved was that you had SPACE to walk around even when a lot of people were around, the artists had space to move around, you always were able to navigate around.

The other hall had the Sandbox and the Cyberdome.

The Sandbox was all about gaming, they had vendors like Nintendo and Capcom, an exhibition about consoles and games, a fleamarket for games and more photo corners.

The Cyberdome was all about PCs, from Modding to anything else. They also had a Parcour you could use to show off your skills and a huge stage for the program. As you can see it was a lot of room.

The only downside I saw here truly was: there was only two (three if you counted outside) sanitary spots and ... you basically had to decide 30 minutes prior if you had to pee :') some more toilets set up outside would help greatly, especially if the day is sold out.

I mentioned photo spots! There were some set up like in the first pic here but also bit pop up spots and some were set in containers with differend themed to take photos at, that's a super cool idea! Sadly I didn't have a photographer with me therefore I skipped on taking pics there.

I was able to make some people smile with my Allen Cosplay and even able to talk a bit about the fact that the series is indeed still on going!

Also I'm very proud of myself to ask every cosplayer of DGM I came across for photos. You might now I suffer from severe social anxiety and usually need a safe person to push me forward. That's why I was a bit nervous in regards of attending the whole convention alone. Usually I get to a point in which I space out and then am overstimulated and it's just dead end for me, either mental breakdown or braindead.

But I managed super well. I went slow through the con, over and over again, taking breaks here and there. And I actually bought things I was eyeing for a while, commissioned a drawing and even bought food (yes that has been an issue too, like actually talking to people and ordering food, like a normal human? Gasp nope.).

My personal highlight and the first thing I got was this japanese crepe by Mimi's Crepe, a store I wanted to visit for a while and just had learned they would vendor at the con! What a great coincidence, they even had a convention special, with Matcha and Azuki Bean Paste.

The little foodie that I am I decided to try more later on, I am still super proud I ordered so much and just went for it. One is a falafel bowl with salad, sweet potato fries and Mango Chutney, as the serving was super small I got a Matcha Latte Bubble Tea as Desser, never had one with Tapioca, super chewy and fun.

With another 2 hour ride upon me I decided to head back to the train around 5 in the evening and said good bye to the convention, it was getting a bit empty anyways.

This time going back to the train station all by myself. Adventure underground here. Hah. but I remebered that line from a doll meet years ago luckily. It was easier than before as I arrived directly at the main station this time.

I had a few minutes left at the main station before boarding my train and wanted another little something .. I got a yogurt with berries but look at those pretty donuts. German Donuts are expensive af though and I felt like I only lived off sugar the day, therefore i only snatched a photo.

The train back was incredibly full... the security personell even dared to evacute the train if people wouldn't remove their bags from the seats (wtf why is that still a thing?) - I got a single seat at my first train.

Also we had another announcement which was "It's nice to know none of you likes to move but there is plenty of seats in wagon 5, 6 and 6! You know this is a train, it's hollow from the inside, you can walk through it" .. I had to laugh.

Drew a bit and enjoyed my little snack. Later as I had to change trains I stood next to a non german speaking family and their kid pointed fingers at me and laughed, I was seriously too tired to begin a fight against a full family but please teach your children some manners. Also kid: at least be brave enough to insult me in the native language of the country you are in. I have the courage to live my life to its fullest and walk around in a costume in a train full of people, I don't hide behind a full family to be an asshole about not understanding why people dress differently like you are used to see. No I tell people they should move aside and stick to the rules, even with severe social anxiety. Suck it up.

As I then changed trains I .. met Mahein.Design again and we shared the space in the other train, chatting along a bit until I had to get off. Thank you for the nice hour it was a pleasure to meet you! I also read and sketched a bit more.

[genericpuff]

(1) Hello, than you for your posts about Lore Olympus and for recommending the Pyrrhic_Victoria podcast. I'm a very casual reader of the series, at time going months without checking the episodes and it's fascinating how many problems just flew over my head, although I had weird impression when reading the chapter about Persephone defeating Kronos, it felt odd and off (the reporters - just... how?).

Considering you put this into 3 parts, I'll just be responding to all three in one post if that's okay! (hence the copy pastes above!)

The S2 finale was definitely where I really started to go "uhhhhhh" with the series. The trial already had me raising my eyebrows (such as the Eris reveal) but the S2 finale was where I really just started to drop off and lose the love I once had for the series.

ETA: I realize the tone of this post kinda went off but it's a hot button topic of mine that I enjoy talking about so bear with it haha Thank you for wishing me luck with Rekindled, I got big things planned ❤️❤️❤️

To address #2, I actually have a liiiittle bit of beef with that notion. As a writer, I don't think it's necessarily good form to blame the audience for failing to meet expectations. Yes, audience members can come up with some wild theories and expectations especially when it comes to serialized stories like this, but the core of the issue is that LO/Rachel doesn't manage what it sets up well at all. Even the most basic expectations for where the story is going seem to be dropped, expectations that anyone who pays an inch of attention to the series would come up with.

For example, I don't think it was too big of an ask to expect the time skip actually show more than it did. A lot of people were hyped to see Persephone be on her own, forced to do her mother's job, and live up to everything she had bragged about at the start of S2 (about how she had 'peaked' in her mother's duties) not to mention offer her an opportunity to make spring her own. There was also the theory/expectation that it would potentially lead to an actual genuine abduction, through Hades option to go to the Mortal Realm and take her "back" to the Underworld in defiance of Zeus' sentencing.

And of course, there's what happened with the Eros x Psyche myth, the return of Kronos, and the Hymn of Demeter, all of which are stories that not only had setups as far back as S1, but Rachel has butchered within the confines of LO because she wants to try and be "subversive", not realizing that being "subversive" doesn't mean completely screwing over the original meanings of these myths or writing a poorly-constructed story.

These, to me, are not wild expectations to have in the slightest for a comic that's claiming to be a retelling of the taking of Persephone. But LO is as far from being a true retelling as retellings can possibly get. It can hardly even be called fanfiction at this point.

Point is, it's up to the writer to fulfill the expectations they set, and that's a separate thing entirely from an audience setting their expectations "too high". It's not like people are asking for anything that's outside the reasonable realm of what Rachel is tackling, everything that I see people "expecting" is pretty par for the course for the stuff Rachel has noticeably set up (like the return of Kronos, for example).

I see the argument crop up a lot that people should just "lower their expectations" of LO for the sake of enjoying it, but frankly, if I were in Rachel's position, I would be downright insulted and disappointed in myself if I found out my audience had to lower their expectations of me and my work to enjoy it. I don't want an audience out of pity, I want an audience because I've put out a damn good piece of work that's earned that audience. And this isn't something that's unique to me, this is pretty much the viewpoint of every other creator I know, so if Rachel is seriously hiding behind the notion that it's her audience's 'fault' for having their expectations too high, then she's a coward, full stop. She set those expectations herself in a lot of ways, and especially by going so far as to claim LO as a 'retelling' of some of the most beloved myths in literature.

As a writer, it's disrespectful as fuck to see people come up with these kinds of arguments instead of expecting better of someone who claims to be a professional and regularly brags about their awards (which weren't even earned, they were very likely bought).

As an audience member, I shouldn't have to turn off my brain and forgo my own intelligence as a reader to enjoy someone else's work. I'd rather just stop reading it altogether and put that energy into something else far more enjoyable and worth my time.

[andrewknightley]

>:) 9 con 3), 7 con 1) yyyy 8 con 4)

9)What is your favorite dialogue you’ve written so far?

I lied to you taniushka i cant do this. I have to point at myself with a gun to write a nsfw fic, I would need to be very sleep deprived at night to share it with the wind without mentioning to anyone . Actually I am in that moment of "mm. If i drew all this as a comic it would be less embarrassing" (dialogues are embarrassing anyways I am doomed)

7. What is your favorite scene you’ve written so far?

OK SO yeah I can talk about my ocs. They are these btw. Anyways one of my fav scenes is still of draft and is <3 <3 <3 there is a lot of violence and is just very cathartic to me but because it is very spoilers for my friends who are reading this I will try to choose my 2nd fave scene it's the "2 people are on a time loop but one (Aza) is pretending he doesn't remember anything from the timeloop" and the other guy (Caoba) catches him and is like "hey dude do you wanna go to this dark alley with me" when both know there is a guy with a knife trying to kill them there and Aza has to choose between admiting the truth or getting stabbed (wich hurts anyways). Also one time that Aza kidnaps a baby for info and he doesn't even get the info.

8. What is the last scene you’ve written?

Ok so this is about these GOsh is been a while I don't even remember let's check. ... Ok so the last scene writen and "published" was the group of main characters that are running away from the law and specifically from the Monarchy are like "ok guys what if we infiltrate in the fucking main city where the queen and all her guards are we got a plan to not fucking die (they have no plan)"

Also here is the ask game :3 reblog it guys so I can ask you stuff hee hee

[villain-in-love]

Sorry this ask took a while to send, I've been busy deep cleaning the last few days! But in your other post you mentioned Monster High and Ever After High OCs/Self Inserts. I don't want to pressure you if you don'y want to ofc, but if you're comfortable with sharing them.. I'd love to know more about them!!

I don't know much about Ever After High myself. I watched a few webisodes on Youtube some time ago and then dropped it. But I've been thinking about picking it back up again because I love the fairytale setting. Plus the dolls look very cool design-wise! I think out of the character I've seen so far, Madeline might be my favourite :3

Also, do you perhaps collect any other doll lines? I also enjoy Living Dead Dolls, Bleeding Edge, Little Apple Dolls, ect. If you enjoy the gothic/alternative style of Monster High, I'd definetly recommend them!! Some of them are bit more gorey - but theres plenty of interesting characters.

Ever After High is a great doll line as well as a show with immaculate aesthetic and interesting concept. Personally, I still prefer Monster High over it, but I've seen people favour Ever After High because it has a serious main conflict that can be analysed on a deeper level. A lot of people tend to simplify the message to "rebels good, royals bad", but in reality, while rebels do end up being in the right, position of royals does make sense, their concerns are understandable and hold a certain weight, at the very least because the entire situation the characters are in is rather complicated.

Honestly, if we look behind the bright and pastel coloured fairy tale aesthetic, the way fairy tale society functions is borderline dystopian…

Anyways, I think I have more OCs here because with the whole premise of following or rejecting one's destiny as well as having characters represent different fairy tales, naturally, lot of ideas appear. And so my OCs are often just me playing with the possibilities of what kind relationship with their fairy tale roles different characters might have.

While she’s not my personal favourite, I respect everyone who likes Madeline, she’s pretty cool (I especially like her Legacy Day doll which is visibly inspired by Victorian fashion) Unfortunately, she often get reduced to a comic relief, but I believe she had much more to her character in books by Shannon Hale, which I didn't have a chance to read yet, but I’m planning on doing so.

By the way, I checked out the doll brands you listed, and turns out I already knew some of them. However, while I don’t mind gore, those are not exactly the type of dolls I’m interested in (mostly I just dislike child-like proportions). (Living Dead Dolls look pretty neat though) I guess I liked Monster High as fashion dolls specifically, and very elegant, elaborate and well-thought-out ones at that.

Aside from Monster High and Ever After High, I used to like Bratzillas. I know that some might say that they are just a Monster High rip-off, but even if they were heavily inspired by it, they were still good (well, I was simply excited to see another gothic fashion doll line). I’m still upset that the franchise was so short-lived and I wish I bought more of their dolls. At some point Once Upon a Zombie piqued my interest, but I got quickly disappointed in doll and animation quality.

Also I wanted to comment on your OCs, because I actually like your character ideas. I adore the pun that is Manita’s name, especially since it’s both a good joke and sounds similar to "manticore". I overall have a soft spot for characters that are man-eaters both figuratively and literally. Octavia is extremely cute, I think she’s my favourite here, and I would totally root for her and Twyla’s relationship if they were in a show together. Levi looks like an entertaining type of character, I wish I could see him (them?) in action.

I kinda want to bother you a bit more and ask about what kind of fashion styles your characters prefer wearing and what would be written in their “freaky flaw” part of the bio, but that’s up to you if you want to continue the conversation about OCs.

Anyways, going to my OCs. I must warn you, there's a whole lot of information. I feel kinda bad for not drawing them myself and using character makers to represent them instead, but depression is a bitch and so this is the best I can do currently.

So here are the character design concepts plus some notes I have about them:

Starting with my only Monster High OC who is also a self-insert. I still don't have a name for her, since I want it to be a pun like most of Monster High names are but I have no good ideas yet.

Heavily inspired by the song Necromancin Dancin by Bear Ghost.

She's a necromancer who was born in the middle of the 19th century and died young. However, in my lore necromancers themselves are undead as well and only “awaken” after their own death. And so the first dead body they learn to control is their own.

She actually started out as a villainous character who exploited other undead students using her powers, either to harm or to manipulate.

She has issues, okay? On the inside she’s just a cynical and hostile sociophobe with a “better be a bully than the one bullied” mindset, convinced that there’s no point in trying to make friends since everyone would hate her anyway.

Ends up going through a character development and redemption arc thanks to the power of friendship and acceptance because it’s Monster High we’re talking about.

She seems very cool and confident when she’s being mean, but she’s so painfully awkward when put in a friendly environment. She doesn’t know how to be nice, she’s afraid of making a wrong move and ruining everything again.

Has a good sense of humour, but it’s dark and sometimes downright rude or offensive, which often puts her in uncomfortable situations.

She’s adopted since her parents were regular humans and she long since outlived them. After their death another necromancer – who was her mentor – took her in.

Now this is Ekaterina Bayun, the daughter of the one and only Bayun Cat. She was sent to Ever After High to better get ready for taking her father's role, since she's the first ever person to replace the original Bayun Cat. Because her father is immortal, she's didn't have to do it and it was entirely her own decision, which made her somewhat famous in school, being that she’s the only fairy tale character’s descendant who was actually given a choice.

While Ekaterina counts as a "royal" simply by the virtue of choosing to take her parent's role in their fairy tale, her view on the royal vs rebel conflict is rather neutral. And if you ask her opinion, she thinks that humans of their world would benefit more from rebel’s movement than they would if everything stayed the same as it always was.

She's actually a big monstrous cat who is capable of transforming into a human-like form. She spends half of the time in her cat form and assumes human appearance when it’s more convenient.

Ekaterina takes villain classes since, while she’s not The Villain TM, she’s classified as a beast that usually antagonises heroes. Also she literally kills and feasts on human flesh and it kind of automatically puts her into “evil” category.

Very chill, very lazy, prone to sarcasm and snide remarks. Like every cat, Ekaterina subconsciously thinks of herself as superior to everyone else and doesn’t like following any rules she disagrees with.

She’s a great storyteller and a singer with low and slightly gravelly, but very attractive voice. However, she has to be careful with it as to not accidentally put the entire school to an endless sleep.

Ekaterina has got a creative streak and is pretty intelligent, so she’s also good at making up her own stories. Her favourite school subject is creative storytelling.

She couldn't care less about human etiquette or morality. She's nosy and impudent, and has a habit of wandering into places where she shouldn't be.

Mstislava The Wise – daughter of Vasilisa the Wise from “The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise”. Headstrong and prideful, she never wanted to accept the role of her mother, which is why her family sent her to Ever After High in hopes that she will be put in her place here and stop rebelling. But boy, if that wasn't the miscalculation of the century.

Mstislava is a hardcore russian woman – she will walk into the house on fire and stop the horse running at full gallop, looking fabulous while doing so. She’s talented and intelligent, and absolutely refuses to become an obedient and loving wife of some Ivan Tsarevich who will sit on his ass while she does all the work in their story, only to be denied credit later.

Just like all women of her bloodline, Mstislava is a powerful sorceress. She's a master of transfiguration who is closely connected to the forces of nature, plus she possesses an impressive collection of enchanted items. She's also implied to be not quite human.

She doesn’t actually hate being a princess, and she would love to become a queen, but she's willing to sacrifice her royal status for the sake of her freedom of choice... or just for the sake of making a point.

She threatens her family with magic or refusing to go home if they don't accept her wanting to write her own destiny. She either gets to become the queen on her own terms, of she will run away and become a wicked forest witch.

Despite how serious and intense she appears, Mstislava does have a mischievous side and sometimes uses her magic powers to play tricks on people.

Mstislava is good at poetry, but unlike what is expected of a princess, she’s a terrible musician. (And so Ekaterina proceeded to teach her how to rap to pass the Muse-ic class…)

She's hard-working, but she's also a night owl, so you can catch her angrily banging at the door where the party is going at night, complaining that they're disturbing her while she's trying to study.

She's actually Baba Yaga's distant relative, and Mstislava considers Yaga to be her role model.

Meowriel Savatier – daughter of the Puss in Boots. She's a natural born hero and a royal who is very excited about fulfilling her destiny, especially since her destiny is to be with and help her best friend Marquise de Carabas (she's in love with her but doesn't fully realize it yet).

She’s technically considered to be Marquise’s lady-in-waiting, but it’s not as obvious since they both treat each other as friends and equals, with Marquise being especially considerate, even though Meowriel herself still goes out of her way to please her.

She doesn't have many close people, but she's an incredibly loyal friend, even to the point of selflessness.

Meowriel is bold, energetic, and resourceful. She seems to be in high spirits all the time, having a plan for any occasion and never giving up.

She's an incredibly persuasive and charming opportunist.

She takes hero classes and is the best in the Dragon Slaying class, where she uses cunning tactics to succeed instead of trying to rely on brute force.

She's an example of a royal who is actually selfish. She genuinely wants to fulfil her destiny which will give her and her beloved Marquise a happy ending, while the rest of the royals and rebels can rip each other to pieces for all she cares.

She doesn't mind rebels, but only as long as it doesn't affect her own story. However, if someone in her story tries to rebel, she's willing to force them back into their role by trickery and manipulation.

Because every character cast needs a cheerful French with a bob cut and a sinister side.

Once I actually get to drawing her myself, I hope to make the design of her boots much more elaborate, since they are her character's signature piece.

Marquise de Carabas – daughter of the miller's youngest son from the story of the "Puss in Boots". Marquise wants to be an active character in her story and she's worried about her best friend having to do all the work for her. She feels that it's unfair that she doesn't have to do anything while Meowriel alone ensures their happy ending.

She's a bit spoiled, but I wouldn't say that she's entitled. More like she's not used to hard work and discomfort, all her life she didn't even have to lift a finger or deal with serious problems herself.

She loves art in all of its forms, so she wishes to keep living an easy and lavish lifestyle so that she could dedicate her time and effort to it.

She's not particularly skilled at writing, drawing, or singing but she doesn't let it stop her. She's got a good sense of aesthetic and yet unexplored theatrical talent. Also she's a great violinist.

She considers the possibility of rebelling, while she secretly tries to find the way to prevent her story from even starting. Just like in the case of Ashlynn Ella, Marquise is destined to lose her royal status and fall into poverty for her story to begin, and in the end she’s going to have to marry to become a princess again.

She has serious issues with having to marry a "designated" person as a part of her destiny, especially since she still didn’t even have a chance to meet them. She’s the type who can only fall in love with someone she already shares a deep bond that lasted for years, and there's exactly one person like this in her life...

However, seeing how excited Meowriel is about following her destiny, Marquise wonders if she should just give in to make her friend happy. After all, in their story they will stay together for ever after anyways, so it shouldn’t be that bad..?

Maybe it's because she's so observant, but Marquise can easily spot acting or lies. Bad acting irritates her.

She doesn't fully trust anyone except Meowriel because she's the only one who is always honest with her.

By the way, I'm still only figuring out her character, since she was recently revamped in design and I started over with her personality. I'm also currently thinking about possibly changing her name.

Hua Li Ming – daughter of Hua Mulan, raised both as a capable warrior and a perfect lady. She's torn between wanting to honour her family, both like her story and fairy tale society tells her, and being absolutely terrified of having to bear such responsibility and spend 12 years at war.

She's noble and prideful, so on one hand she considers it a honour to become the next Mulan. On the other hand, she hates herself for being reasonably scared and unwilling to fulfil her destiny.

I imagine it will get revealed when Darling Charming tells her that she's lucky for getting to be a warrior instead of a damsel in distress, causing Li Ming to snap and go into a full-blown "you know nothing" tirade.

Actually has to deal with the pressure of being both a soldier and a lady. It's not like she was given an opportunity to choose one or even reject both.

She's a royal who desperately wants to rebel but still can’t let go of the thought that it's somehow beneath her.

Everyone around her constantly going on about how she would make a perfect Mulan doesn’t help.

Soft-spoken but firm, knows her own worth.

Known for being well-mannered and highly disciplined, Li Ming is a pleasure to work with and is considered to be a great company.

This showcases her level of self-control, and unfortunately it also means that she’s used to repressing her feelings, especially negative ones, which doesn’t do her any good.

Does meticulous work like weaving and sewing to calm herself and sort out her thoughts.

Li Ming studied combat and the art of war ever since her childhood. She likes it all in theory, but she'd rather not have to use it.

Instead of serving her country as a soldier, she wishes she could prevent the war before it even starts.

Character makers used:

The first one

The one that is made in Ever After High style

The third one is Anime Avatar Maker found on Google Play

[jsab-crisis]

Hey there

I only found this blog recently and I love it, the story line and the artwork along with it, it's a shame you had to discontinue the comic because I enjoyed it.

There are not many JSAB blogs that I like I'll say, but there's been a decrease in them as the hype went away, I found this in my recommended section after I was going through some hard times myself.

After Afrothunder left the community to fix her mental health problems (she was quite the inspiration and helped me through my darkest hours at one point) there wasn't anything left here in this community a side from a couple of blogs here and there I wanted to start my own blog.

But I ran into a major downfall almost immediately, how do you get people to look at your stuff, I know there are a lot of blogs that don't get noticed and run down to nothing but how did you do it or when did people start noticing your work?

I'm not asking for the sake of followers but for other people who are scared to ask this or have a blog of their own like me.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!

I'm still making JSaB art and I've started making a new JSaB AU centered comic (working on chapter 2 atm. 10 pages, fully colored, background + 6 characters) if that's something you wanna see (on my artblog, @zimcard-artblog ) . I haven't made some crisis-au stuff in awhile due to being busy but I'll get back to sharing more lore and other stuff like short comics and whatnot.

Also, yeah, JSaB has been up for awhile. 2 years or so? Man, back in the early days, there were so many early starting comics that were amazing. I honestly miss it back then and wished I was more active like I am right now. Ya' know, the community is still kicking- especially in different social media platforms from my knowledge. I, personally, do NOT suggest Amino. Safe yourself the trouble and back away from it.

Oh! Afrothunder is back from my knowledge but she is doing it in her own pace for the sake of her mental health, it's a genuine shame to hear how someone so talented and kind is being treated so poorly by a bunch of impatient, immature, and even heartless people over her work. This has happened to a lot of people who make popular comics online, often on their own pace, which they tend to run into a bunch of people who are very disrespectful of their personal lives. I've talked to Afrothunder Waaaaaaay back, made an ask collab once with her regarding Blixer and Cyan in this blog. We don't talk now but I like to think of her as an old friend because she was super nice and welcoming back then when we first started talking on the server, it was super neat. Wishing her the best and hope she's doing well right now <:]

> How did you do it or When did people start noticing your blog?

I think it's a matter of getting recognized enough so you can promote any projects you're working on. I started drawing fanart for JSaB the moment I finished watching the playthroughs, it eventually garnered an audience who are into the same media I was in which I gained new followers.

So, basically; get recognized. Tagging your stuff of said media you're basing your post about makes it easier for people to find it. Share some art, doodles, concepts, whatever you have and what you want to share with the people. Eventually you'll notice the numbers rising.

It usually went on like that for me until I end up having an idea- like, "Oh, I have an AU! I wanna share that AU and make a comic out of it!" And so I started sharing small concepts regarding the AU.

Sketches, doodles, designs, short comics, and explanations. It was like an early beta of the project I was working on and when it got enough people interested; That's when you kickstart the final piece that goes "Hey, I made a comic! Check it out!"

If you're doing it on tumblr, really advise to make another blog as a sort of archive for said comic because it makes it easier for people to find the comic and read back to it whenever they want to. Accessibility is key.

This actually applies for making askblogs as well or any sort of extra blog for something specific.

Then, with all of that, you go on your own pace. It's a hard start but you'll be able to go with your own flow, take your time, and remember to prioritize YOURSELF first before other things. If you receive any sort of hate or just weird messages, just delete them on the spot because you are responsible for your own inbox.

That's my two cents on it, hope this helps! If there's anything specific you wanna know. Just ask :3

[mirrorthoughts]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Learn to know your mutuals and followers! 💖

I can see why I got this sent from both of you @teenwerewoofs & @meggie-stardust 😂😂 Thanks ❤❤❤

Stories I just love stories of every kind! May it be in words (books, fics, rpgs), pictures (comics/manga, movies, series), sound (telling stories over the fire, music in general, musicals, a music album that's got a whole story, audiobooks) or anything else ((video) games, escape rooms, stories weaved into quilts, anything really). Of course not all stories are to my liking (don't like don't read etc.) but if you see me without a story of any kind and I'm not writing myself or with people or at work I might already be dead 😂

Writing Didn't see that coming, huh? ;D Of course writing needs to be on this list! If I'm not reading or otherwise engrossed in someone else's story I'm definitely dabbling in my own. Be it in my head when I can't write or writing fics, my own stuff, rpgs, bullet point lists of ideas, ramblings in my BuJo and the like. Just as with reading, if you don't see me write and I'm not reading or with people or at work, check my pulse 😂

My people! This includes, of course, my found siblings, but also those people that leave an impression on me. And a lot of the time that's people writing stuff. We might not know each other very well, but if I've interacted with you in some kind of way, especially more often than once, I mean you with this! As you could see, stories are a huge part of my life in any shape or form. So is knowledge and curiosity. If I follow you here on tumblr and interact with your stuff, you are my people! And I love you very much for giving me your thoughts and knowledge, your passions, your stories, your empathy towards me and others. Thank you ❤❤❤

Knowledge I suppose this was obvious, after what I just wrote xD I'm a very curious person and one that can fall easily into the next rabbithole at a blink 😂 I'm not the only 'wtf why do you know that?' person in my friend group since all of us have a certain tendency to curiosity and falling into stuff head first (like finds like and all that) so it's always funny to find out new stuff and share it with the group :D (or scurry away with a rather large bit of new information and nibble at it until satisfied or bored 😂 (yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere on the autism and adhd-spectrum, why do you ask? öÖ)

Kindness This might be a weird one for some, but it's a very important one for me. The world is cruel these days. And children often like to be, so I'm not a stranger to the cruelty and unkindness of the world thanks to things like mobbing etc. I can also be a pretty naive person since I'm bad at understanding people, especially strangers I don't know. So I have to actually be careful about people being nice to me, because I'm bad at discerning if they are nice because they want to be or because they want to sell me something <.< So, people just being kind, and me being kind to people, is something I treasure very much. Sometimes a nice smile or a nice word is enough. Sometimes even the absence of cruel words has to do. On my old way to work lives an older woman who always looked out of the window when I walked along that certain street. She looked grumpy, so I wished her a good morning and smiled at her. She smiled back. Since then I greeted her every morning, because no matter how grumpy she looked, she greeted and smiled back and lit up with that smile. I'm still sad that I don't see her anymore, but I walk a very different path to work by now and earlier at that, too, so she wouldn't even be there If I would take the old path. I can't be kind like that to everyone. I'd love to help every homeless person I see, but since I live in a big city there are very many of them and very little of me. I can't help everyone, since I'm only one person. But I try. With a smile, with something to eat, with a nice word. (Because I'm still just as surprised if someone outside of my friend group has a smile or a nice word for me)

[pageandpanel]

Or, A Retrospective Quest to Find my Favorite Book

(originally posted @ Page and Panel on wordpress)

For anyone who considers themselves a “reader,” there is a single question that we all dread being asked but secretly love answering. What is your favorite book? Do you have a few books on hand to rattle off at a moments notice or do you shrug and say that you don’t have one? Do you tailor your answer to the person asking the question or you have a single, absolute, definitive favorite that you sing the praises of any time you’re given the chance? I, like most people I’m sure, have given different variations of these answers over the years along with dozens of others. Realistically, if you ask me this question my answer will change given the time of day, my mood, and the direction of the winds. And that’s totally fine. But I’m trying to generate content here so I want to interrogate this question a little. Or a lot.

Baby’s First Bookstagram Post ^

I started actively tracking my reading in 2017 on Instagram. Scroll all the way down on my page if you want to see some truly uninspired photography, but also if you want to be shocked at how consistently I posted when I was using that as my primary tracking method. I have a nearly infallible log of everything I’ve read in the last five years. According to Goodreads, I’ve read a total of 688 books between January 1st, 2017 and December 4, 2021. That’s absolutely more books read in the last five years than in the entire rest of my previous 25 years of life. That’s a lot of content to condense into such a small span of time and I already know my brain hasn’t retained all of it.

Running the numbers like this has left me with two questions I want to explore:

How many of these books do I actually remember?

Which of these books is actually my favorite?

And that’s what this series of blog posts is going to explore. I am going to be re-examining books I’ve read and logged, maybe dipping in to re-read or skim a few here and there to see if my opinion has changed. I want to see how actively I have been reading over the years, or if I’ve truly gotten sucked into the social media gamification of reading where I’m just burning through books to hit a goal. And, because I love a list, I’m going to be ranking the books I revisit in a quest to figure out which is my definitive favorite. Or if such a thing even exists.

Where was I in January of 2017? Well, let’s check the caption on my very first official “bookstagram” post:

“2016 was a trash fire in the middle of a shit storm for me. So one of my goals this year is to read more and to read every day. Earlier today, I decided I might as well chronicle this effort on Instagram. So here is the pile of stuff I read yesterday.” (JANUARY 2, 2017)

Yeah so that about sums it up. I was struggling to recover from the gut punch that was the 2020 election (still recovering), dragging myself through my last two semesters of college (remember not having student loan payments?) , and working full time at my local comic store (still the best job I’ve ever had). I think it hit me that over the previous few years I had only really been reading books for class–English Major life–and comics because that was my life at the time. And I really wanted to expand my reading life. Thus, I started logging my books and trying to read a little every day. The first few books I finished that year were actually comics so bare with me.

Book One: Midnighter and Apollo

written by Steve Orlando with art by Fernando Blanco.

Let me start off by explaining that the way I’ve tracked my comics over the years is by bundling single issues (aka the 20 page floppy magazine style books that come out every week) as they are released in trade paperbacks (aka graphic novels that collect 5-7 single issues in a single bound book). i feel like doing it this way gives me a more realistic number at the end of the year, given I read hundreds of 20-ish page comics a year.

Midnighter and Apollo is Steve Orlando’s follow up miniseries to his run on Midnighter (Vol 2 2015-2016). I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a big DC comics reader. I have a few characters that I like to dip in and out of whenever they show up in books, but I grew up on Marvel and never really made the jump to being a fully dedicated DC fan. However, this was an era of DC comics that I actually really loved and Midnighter is one of those characters that will always get me to pick up a book. The incredibly reductive elevator pitch for Midnighter as a character is that he’s Gay Murder Batman. And if you’re not on board with that, then you’re on the wrong blog, my friend.

I absolutely loved Orlando’s run on Midnighter and this miniseries was just as thrilling. The basic plot, without giving too much away and without digging into all of the minutiae of a character written inconsistently for the last 11 years, is a To Hell and Back For Love kinda story. Apollo is abducted and Midnighter has to fight his way through literal Hell (fire and brimstone actual Hell, not metaphorical hell) to get him back.

The book reunited the couple who had been married in 2002 but separated and largely absent from comics for the last few years. Coming off a run of comics that I loved, I think I was a little annoyed by the reunion and then unceremonious shelving of these characters after this series. Particularly because 2015 had been kind of a good year for gay comics. Midnighter was having a good active run, consistently showing up in Grayson (Nightwing’s comic when he was a spy for a minute) as well as having his own title. Over at Marvel, Iceman would come out as gay in November of the same year. Not quite as groundbreaking as back to back bisexual Robin and Superman 2.0 announcements, but we were still begging for crumbs in mainstream comics back then. It was fun to pick up a comic every month and watch a gay man have to leave a Tinder date to go murder a bad guy. But Midnighter and Apollo reset the character to a status quo with most queer characters of the time.

Instead of letting a queer character be single, date around, and live their lives like many straight characters are allowed to do, gay characters in superhero comics tend to be coupled up and desexualized to the point that their can easily be overlooked by people who don’t want to see it. Northstar of Alpha Flight and X-Men was married to his partner, a human dude named Kyle, in Astonishing X-Men #51 (2012) in the first gay marriage in superhero comics. Post-wedding, the two rarely appeared in comics until very recently. Additionally, everyone’s favorite gay couple at Marvel–Wiccan and Hulkling–have been together since their very first appearance in Young Avengers Vol 1 in 2005. After their initial appearance in that series, they wouldn’t be seen again with any regularity until Young Avengers Vol 2 in 2013. Consistently, gay men at the time were coupled up and pushed out of major story lines to cater to an assumed straight male comics readership.

Obviously I’m never going to be mad about happy gay couples living their happy gay lives, but this desexualization of queer men to make them more palatable felt like a step back for the direction Midnighter had been going in his own series. I also think that it’s important to note that Steve Orlando is a queer man who has written almost exclusively queer comics. I also don’t know how much publisher influence there was over the decision to put the couple back together verses how much Orlando actually wanted this couple to be together. Regardless of my skepticism and whatever decisions were made by who, I did end up loving this six issue run of comics. I was already pretty committed to reading everything Orlando wrote, but this cemented it for me. This isn’t the last of his comics that will pop up throughout this project. I am also always on the look out for new Midnighter content. In 2021 he found his way back to the spotlight in at least two comics: DC Pride #1 and Midnighter Annual #1.

When I read this originally, I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads and I think that’s still a pretty solid rating. I know it’s going to rank somewhere in the middle of my extremely top heavy list. Overall, I highly recommend this series to anyone interested in getting into queer DC comics, but I would also advise starting with with the original series, Midnighter (2015) as well as Grayson (2015) by Tom King, Tim Seeley, and Mikel Janín. I definitely want to carve out some time to revisit both of these series in the very near future to see how they hold up and where they will rank on the list.

BOOK TWO: SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL

written by Cecil Castellucci with art by Marley Zarcone

Unlike Midnighter and Apollo, this is an ongoing series rather than just a mini-series. As I said earlier, for the purpose of logging comics, I bundle them in as they’re collected in trades. So, Midnighter and Apollo is issues #1-6 for the complete story. Most comics on this list are going to be broken up into similarly sized chunks, but will have multiple volumes. So, Shade the Changing Girl has a Volume 1 (collecting issues 1-6) and a Volume 2 (issues 7-13). For the purposes of this project though, I’m counting all 13 issues as a single story, and will treat most runs of comics the same way. Every new #1 is a new story, etc etc. Hopefully that’s enough explaining my own process for this post.

Cecil Castellucci draws just enough from the original series to capture the utter madness of Milligan and Bachalo’s Shade, but create such a fascinating character in Loma that you don’t actually need to read the original series to get deeply invested in this new one (which is probably for the best because I doubt Shade the Changing Man holds up). And Marley Zarcone’s art is beautiful and creates the perfect atmosphere to tell this weird ass story. I can’t tell you how many times I sat down with these issues and ended up just staring at the art. And in Volume 2, there’s a breathtakingly beautiful issue drawn by Margurite Sauvage, one of my all time favorite artists.

I honestly don’t think Loma has popped up in any comics since the sequel to this series, Shade the Changing Woman (we’ll get to it), which is a shame because I would buy literally anything else with her on the cover. I also really miss this era of comics. Vertigo has made every attempts at a comeback since the glory days in the 90s. Young Animals, I think, is the closest they ever got. After a first phase of comics (they’ll all be on the list at some point) that all lasted about 12 issues, a cross over event, and then a second phase of 5-6 issue mini series, the entire Young Animal imprint was scrapped and DC attempted to revitalize the Vertigo brand. None of those books ever took off (and none of them were very good) and DC has since scrapped the entire like altogether in favor of their “Black Label” imprint. In my opinion, Young Animal is the closest DC ever got to the classic Vertigo books I was obsessed with in high school. But money talks and sales for his books never really took off. I think we sold 5 or 6 issues of Shade ever week, despite my best effort to hand sell it. So pour one out for Gerard Way and his weird comics.

Unsurprising, I gave both installments of this series 5 stars and I stand by that. I can’t recommend this highly enough and it’s definitely getting ranked above Midnighter and Apollo. Seriously, I’m sure you can find the back issues of this so cheap in any comic store dollar bin or on Comixology for a discount. Even if you’re not a big comic reader, this one and it’s sequel are perfectly self-contained stories and absolutely worth checking out.

BOOK TWO: ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Finally! An actual novel. I promise the comics thin themselves out in 2018 when I stop working at the comic store.

What is there to be said about Aristotle and Dante that hasn’t already been covered by anyone who has ever read a book? Seriously, you’ve all read this right? I don’t need to talk you into it. Somehow I had made it to 25 without reading this absolute classic of a Queer YA novel. I’ve actually been meaning to reread this one all year and haven’t quite gotten around to it. Maybe it will be the next book I pick up and we can end this year on a high note.

Aristotle and Dante is the story of two very different boys from two very different backgrounds. And against the odds, they form an incredible bond, becoming close friends and eventually something more. One of my favorite things about this book, and one of the things I think about constantly when I read other queer stories, is the relationship between Aristotle and his parents. Aristotle is going through a turbulent time of self-discovery, trying to figure out the kind of person he’s going to be. And there is never a point in the story in which his parents, specifically his father, abandon him in that journey. It’s exhausting to see queer teens in stories abandoned, neglected, or abused by their families. Seeing that love on the page remain strong and unquestioning, especially as they come to a collective realization about the person Aristotle is growing up to be, is deeply affirming and refreshing.

I didn’t grow up with ready access to a lot of queer media, especially media aimed at younger audiences. I learned about gay things like every other middle school kid in the early 2000s: on Degrassi: The Next Generation and roleplaying X-Men characters on Xanga. And as an adult, I don’t read a ton of YA but I will almost always pick up anything queer. I love that these books are available to kids as they learn about themselves. And more than anything I love the care with which Sáenz handles these characters and their lives. You can feel his affection for Ari and Dante in every word. This is a book that is swelling with emotion invites readers to really feel their own vulnerability along with these characters.

I have this as a 5 star read. Fantastic call on my part. Of the books entering the list today, this is the one that I feel the most emotional attachment towards so I’m slipping it in at the number one spot. I wish I had more to say about this book except that I absolutely adore it and I can’t wait to read the sequel (waiting for the paperback release so my books match is so stressful). If this has been sitting on your TBR for a while bump it up to the top. For now, I’ll leave you with a quote I took a picture of for instagram that I do think about pretty regularly. It feels like a fresh gut punch every time I read it.

WRAPPING IT UP

Okay so the fun part of all of this is coming out with a ranked list of books I’ve read. Okay maybe that’s just fun for me. I’m going to keep a running google doc list and insert the books I talk about wherever I think they should go on the list. This one is going to be pretty easy, since the only books entering the list are the three I talked about in this post.

There’s not a ton to wrap up on the first installment in this project. Nothing super controversial here. Just one popular YA book that everyone has read and two comic series no one has read. I’m excited to see how this pans out and where I land on books I haven’t thought about in a while. Next time I have two more comic series and one of my all time favorite novels to add to the list. The next few posts are going to be pretty comics heavy, so hopefully no one is totally put off by that content. I promise, they fade out by the end of the year.