#I could do so many things with this lmao

[cuppajj]

i had a vision

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

so five and lila being a thing is going right next to allison literally sexually assaulting luther in the box of things we are absolutely under no circumstances accepting as part of canon right

[meamiiikiii]

5% of a color headcanon.... two versions since b&w emphasizes the dagger more i think but i still like the warm tones ASFSADA

i am not biased towards rainbow daggers whatsoever i promise (lie)

((also friend is streaming now and im there too!! bit more info linked here, its rated mature tho))

[corntired]

Fanfiction is so goated actually

No monetary incentive, just writing in one's free time. Some incentive for like kudos and comments, because who doesn't want to hear that someone else enjoyed what they wrote. Just writing a story that is good and/or enjoyable, no real-life pressure to keep it going because god forbid you and other people are depending on it financially.

Writing a story because you want to write a good story, so you can write what they want the way you want, at a pace that is realistic for you, with exactly the plot pacing you want there to be.

[rottmnt-residuum]

Sorry if this is too unrelated or something, but do you have any tips for comic composition? I absolutely adore how you frame everything, from the backgrounds, to the bubble placement, to the way the colors seem to fit together in each panel, and I've always been curious about how you do it

if this is too vague/overcomplicated I understand, I love your work and hope you're doing well <3

Hm... well. Honestly, most of my composition comes from transcribing the animation of residuum that's happening in my head. Which is why, if any of y'all've noticed, residuum is framed a bit like a movie. So if you're looking to do something similar, I'd recommend either studying camera techniques, or watching movie analysis with a focus on camera work. I'm unfortunately a bad person to ask, as a lot of what I do just comes via practice that's turned to instinct.

This is a really good resource on page compositions in general, though I mostly do panel by panel stuff for my own ease:

The background style is actually directly inspired from @meandtheyeehaws, it's fast, easy, and doesn't require too much thought on my part. You spend a lot of time on comics, so you take shortcuts where you're willing to.

Bubble placement... I've noticed that people tend to laser focus on dialogue. So, the dialogue bubbles are how you lead the reader's eyes. They are the very base of the reader's eye path. All this means is that you should just map the eye path you want and then frame everything else around that. Either to bring notice to stuff or to hide something in plain sight.

Honestly, I have no idea for the color thing. It's one of the things I actually wish the comic was better with. All I do is have set color swatches for characters, and do a transparent color mask to the background color. I love to color, but color itself isn't really my strong suit.

[nachosncheezies]

In defense of late-canon x files (including the revivals)

I was thinking about this poll after I commented on it, and I kinda want to be brave and say more.

Short answer to the poll's question before I go any further: If you're a new fan and a sensitive sort who thinks you'll struggle with your blorbos Really Going Through It and you really need a happy ending, I suggest you stop at the end of season 8. Do not pass go, do not look at spoilers. Disregard this post entirely, close the internet, and go look at something that makes you happy. (Also fuck every part of society that characterizes sensitivity as inherently weak and bad and some kind of personal failing, you are valid.)

That said, "quality" as a concept is entirely subjective, and the question of whether or not there's a decline in quality for any story is wholly subjective, too. In the case of x files? I'm not convinced there is a decline. I am going to be upfront that I haven't yet watched past season 8, though I am almost completely spoiled on events after that - and the reason I haven't watched yet is not because of how I know events are going to unfold, but simply because I don't want it to end!!! Ohh, the tension between "I CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "Nooo don't be over D:"

When I first came to txf fandom on tumblr and gradually became spoiled about what happens in late canon though, I was often left uncomfortable and tbh kinda queasy about it. As I said in my comment on the poll, the hate for especially the revival and IWTB, or to a lesser extent even seasons 8 & 9, is very well documented. But! There are other takes to be found here on tumblr if you figure out where to look, and my feelings have changed!

The thing is, I have yet to find myself in any fandom where there isn't a vocal subset of fans who dislike the story after a certain point. I am not joking when I say that no one hates the things they love as passionately as sci-fi and fantasy fans. In my experience, it often hinges on the extent to which a viewer has strong notions on where they would like the characters to end up. In particular with series where shipping is a dominant component for the bulk of a fandom, I have almost universally found that there comes some turning point in the story where "let them be happy you cowards" is the dominant view, and things that compromise the attainment of a degree of romantic stability and/or domesticity are, to many fans, annoying at best and despicable at worst. But! As one tagset on the linked poll said:

and I think for any fandom, that last tag especially is so so so important. (I think that's harder for people watching a weekly series live, bc you have so much time to analyze and speculate and dream before the next breadcrumb drops, but I digress.)

So why am I saying this and how do I apply it to x files? Well, I eventually found that there are also a subset of fans who find redeeming things right up to the very end and actually quite like the whole thing! The things that I had seen people rage and ventpost so much about honestly never quite sounded to me as "out of character" or "untrue to the story" etc as those same ventposts made them sound. And I've discovered I'm not the only one who felt that way. Do I love that the spooky squad had to go through all of those things? No, those poor guys D: Life is hard and they have been through so much trauma. But do those events and their choices make sense to me in light of everything that came before? Yes! And I honestly can't wait to see them fight to overcome those things, breaking, healing, always learning, always growing, always getting better.

So if you're wondering "where does it go wrong"... well, I'm a completionist, as many people who've answered that post are, but also my personal opinion is that I don't think it does go wrong. If you're new and interested in exploring why I've gone from "vaguely queasy" to "excited" about the whole thing, or want to maybe balance out the impressions you're getting about the later seasons before deciding whether or not you want to see the whole thing, I'll put a few blog names in the comments.

Final admission: even once I started feeling a little more confident in the possibility that "actually ok maybe I'm not crazy, maybe this all kind of is in character and does make sense", there was one big plot point that I was NOT looking forward to and I thought I would never be comfortable about. In hindsight, I think my discomfort came from the negative responses being SO seemingly universal that I hadn't stopped to let myself truly consider other possible interpretations on that point. (I mean my initial instinct when I first read about it was, why are we mad about this?? CSM is literally the most unreliable narrator in history???? it's obviously fake news?????? this must be either a fever dream someone's having or it's a misdirection ploy against whatever shadowy forces might still be lurking?????????????? but for whatever reason I guess I had halfway written that off.) Happily, just last month there's a new post-s11 novel out, and although reviews for the book as a whole are mixed, it seems to have laid the groundwork for resolving that plot issue in a way I think most fans would be broadly happy with. If you're interested in being spoiled about that and seeing how, I recommend searching #perihelion on @agent-troi who liveblogged reading it with receipts, scroll back chronological-style to the first post on the subject and see how it unfolded. (And never forget that Dana Katherine Scully is the queen of denial as a coping mechanism lol)

Everyone's mileage will vary. Each person can feel however they want! But for anyone new, I wanted you to know that the very many ventposts you might be seeing are not all there is to this show or its fandom. Some of us love it despite - or even because of - all the things that went "wrong". I think we just don't talk about it as much.

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[louroth]

"It takes guts to grow up like you did-- thousands of years simmering beneath every kind of oppression man could think of."

"With the sky kissing the crown of my head, knighting me with space to roam and the bravery to explore it [...] Big, open fields of barley and rivers like slivers of silver, marbling my veins."

"And yet you prefer...?" "After all that life?" a breath, a laugh, caught between teeth. "Something cultivated by your own will-- the work, the dread, the sought resolution-- it is far grander than the possibility, the dream of it."

art by @fooltofancy (just. fantastic. look at them. !!!!)

[crescentfool]

the persona 3 protagonist 25th anniversary nui in food appliances!

[buttercup-barf]

The Mario movie was cute, best scenes are the ones with the bros just being. Bros.

Peppino is their cousin. That's it, that's the funny.

And per tradition? I guess? Some more (unfortunately Mario-less) doodles under the cut.

... Yeah. Twinsomnia again. These damn sibs are still on my brain. They're here to - Oh? Oh, Peppino's not a kid? They had the wrong address? Oh well. Might as well help him get through the tower!

Something-something functioning as a single character, something-something throwing each other around, something-something basically Gus and Brick.

Some more self-indulgent crossover'ish nonsense...

Same mirror, same man, different time, different reflections. Shoutout to @/rascal-rose for the idea of young Peppino having curly hair!! I cherish him.

And some wholesome stuff to top it off. (I feel like my handwriting is especially bad on the last one, so just in case, it goes "Buongiorno, ranocchio. Do you want the coffee?".)

[scarrunner05]

Honestly if like. Isafrin or isilloop or any of them had kids in any way one day. Loop would be the shovel talk parent and they would throw a mug at whoever the kid brought home.

Not even necessarily like. Because they’d be strict I just don’t think anyone else (besides odile) would do that and they’d decide someone had to at the very least.

It’s just. It’s set in my mind loop would give the most intimidating shovel talk ever to some poor kid. Imagine talking to your partners parents and everyone’s really nice to you and it’s scary cause they’re the saviors but otherwise okay and then this fucking creature pulls you aside and threatens to hunt you down if you fuck up even slightly (or kiss in front of them cause loop voice. Ew). That’s terrifying.

[emblazons]

MIKE & WILL x 80s MOVIE REFERENCES

Day Two of @bylerweek2023: 80s Films ⤷ visual references from 80s films + byler emphasis

[kaseyskat]

since ive already been pretty open about this and im not afraid to whack a hornets nest i'll go ahead and say it: if you were raising a kid in a pseudo-apocalyptic setting and then you found out that said kid was going to be the one to defeat the eldritch god that you have tried to defeat for half your lifetime and could never manage. that she was going to FACE that eldritch god it was prophesied. you would teach her how to defend herself and how to fight. like god i am not saying hero's trauma from it wasn't justified because i do think the twins took it too far but the initial process of training her makes so much more sense if you approach it at the angle of "this kid is going to do something we've been trying to do since we were twelve and couldn't manage and we might not even be there to help her so we have to make sure she doesn't die in the process" and not "we're going to make her fix our mistakes" it makes sense. goes along with lark's running theme of not being strong enough in the moments that matter and wanting to make sure nobody else ever feels as helpless as he did when walter was injured. goes along with sparrow desperately tempting fate with normal's name- not because normal was an accident, but because sparrow never wanted to lose even one kid to the doodler and it was a fervent, desperate wish to let normal get to be normal

[uptownhags]

i am packing to go on an out of town final interview! for a tiny city entirely run by women! where everything i could ever need is on one street or the other! and my dog would have a yard! i am gonna be CALM!

[deiaiko]

#22.1 Hostages

Khun knew he shouldn't be surprised that his team got kidnapped by Agni. It wasn't even that long after they formed an alliance.

Agni had sent him a notice for today's training plan, telling them to gather at the same place as last week. Though Khun already had a bad feeling when Agni showed up by himself. "I thought we were going to do a team activity between our team and yours?"

"We are." Agni smirked and with a wave of his hand, a lighthouse that was hovering over them came into view.

Suddenly it felt as if someone had pulled the ground out from under his feet, throwing Khun off balance and causing him to fall unceremoniously on his butt. When he regained his bearings, he no longer recognized where he was. Khun looked around to check on his team, and he should've not been surprised to see that Agni was the only one who was still standing.

Did Agni just teleport them? Khun knew that lighthouse teleportation was hard to set without proper knowledge and expensive add-ons. Plus, to be able to teleport this many people at a certain distance would need very precise shinsu control. The gap between them seemed to grow wider and wider the more Khun learned about Agni. It was frustrating.

"Welcome to our team's training ground," Agni introduced. It was an indoor training ground. The windows showed a view of clouds moving, too fast to be from a high apartment building, so they were probably in some kind of moving floating ship. Agni waited until everyone got to their feet before lowering a screen next to him. Khun's heart did a flip as he noticed Bam half-hidden behind Grace.

"Best Turtle! Black Turtle!" Rak was the one to shout and run toward them, but his snout crashed against an invisible barrier, and he fell back. Khun tensed up at the realization that they were caged up.

Agni held up his hand to pause their mumblings. "Before we start, I would like to get everyone here on the same ground."

Grace nudged Bam to stand side by side instead of behind him. There was no smile on their faces. Bam's long bangs covered his eyes like a curtain, but his hands were fidgeting nervously.

"I don't know how many of you know, but let me introduce them to you. They're FUG's newest slayer candidates; Grace and Viole."

As if on cue, Bam tucked his bangs away from his face, showcasing his golden eyes that were still as bright, but less innocent. Khun might be imagining things, but Bam seemed to be looking at him most.

It took a few seconds before Khun heard Endorsi gasping from behind him. "Wait. Isn't that Bam?!" she screeched. "Tell me I'm not seeing things."

Other than Isu, no one else in his team knew that Bam was alive. Though, Khun didn't think that Agni would actually reveal it to everyone this soon. Didn't FUG go into all that trouble to take Bam away? So with this information out in the open, would it endanger Bam? His team?

"That is indeed him," Isu said bitterly.

"But isn't he…?" Hatz trailed off. "How?"

"His death was faked," Grace told them, emotionless. "Rachel pushed him to his 'death'."

Endorsi cursed, "And how exactly do you know about this?! You were involved, weren't you? That's why you suddenly disappeared."

Agni cleared his throat before Grace could refute. "Regardless of who was at fault, Viole is now one of FUG's slayer candidates."

Forced to be one. Khun corrected mentally. Because he was an irregular. 

"To keep Viole and Grace as part of FUG, you are kept as hostages against them, and they were prohibited from meeting you. However, I made a new deal with FUG. And that's why you can see them today. Of course, on one condition–" Agni raised a finger– "that as long as Viole and Grace are loyal to FUG, FUG will leave you be. If this deal is broken by Viole and or Grace, FUG will come after you. But if FUG breaks the deal by targeting you, Viole and Grace are allowed to go against that faction of FUG that started it. However, they will still be FUG's slayer candidates whether the deal was broken or not, as that was their promise so that they could get in touch with you."

"It doesn't sound fair." Hatz unsheathed his sword. "Bam, tell us that you were forced into this!"

Bam didn't respond, but he looked away from them. The sight made Khun’s chest tighten in guilt; From letting Bam live this kind of life. From giving up and believing that he had died. From failing to anticipate that outcome back on the second floor.

However, Hatz was taken aback by Bam's reaction. "...Grace?"

Grace raised his eyebrows as if not expecting any questions directed at him, but he was firm with his decision. "I chose this. I know you all must be upset for multiple reasons, but believe me that this is the best outcome we could have for everyone."

Agni looked over at them again. "As I told you earlier, this is all just to get us on the same ground. You have no say in this deal."

Bam nodded, more certain this time. "I have agreed to it."

That silenced them. Khun wanted to argue, but he bit his tongue, sensing from the odd tension from their hosts that there was something more to this.

"Now that we've told you about it, you have to make your choice. If you want to be in contact with them, you’ll have to accept their status as it is now." Agni seemed to have stated this specifically to Khun, Ran and Endorsi, as they were from one of ten great families and a Jahad's princess. "Or you can cut ties with us and not be involved in our deal."

"I just want to climb with Best turtle and Black turtle!!" Rak kicked the barrier with his clawed feet. "Why are you making it so difficult!!"

Khun already knew his answer long before he was asked. "I agree. I know what I signed up for the moment Bam told us that he was an irregular. No way I'm letting him go again." He couldn’t care less about Grace. But because Bam liked to have Grace around, he figured they’d come in a package.

To his surprise, Agni smiled at them both. Not his usual smug smile, but more gentle and mild. Though it was still getting on his nerves.

Shibisu stepped forward, standing closer to the barrier. "There are far worse things that could've happened than having FUG as an acquaintance. I can deal with it. But I will still take my teammates' decision into consideration."

Hatz sheathed his sword back. "Grace and Bam are my friends. They accepted me as I am, so it's only natural that I respect their choices."

"I honestly don't care if they're from FUG or not, as we've never met before." Ran shrugged. "But if A.A. choose them so then why not; interesting things keep happening around him."

Khun mentally reserved a punch to that chibi's head when they got back.

"I'm also just tagging along," Anaak spoke up. "I'm already an enemy of Jahad anyway. Going up with FUG won't affect me that much."

Endorsi crossed her arms and raised her brow, "I don't see why it's suddenly such a huge deal. I would have left my niece a long time ago if I was scared to be a traitor of Jahad."

It was brief, but Khun caught Grace and Agni exchanging glances. He didn't know what to make of that.

"Very well," Agni flicked his fingers and the barrier dissipated.

Rak immediately took off running and tackled Bam and Grace, holding them as much as his arms could reach. The brunets hugged him back. Khun found himself already walking at them, but he stopped himself at just enough distance from Bam to not make it too obvious how much he missed him. Eventually, everyone joined the reunion, and hugs and handshakes were exchanged.

Since they were still in the enemy's territory, Khun knew better than to let his guard down. So he still observed Agni from his peripheral vision, and immediately noticed the moment Agni turned his head to the side and talked in hushed voice, "Does their answer satisfy you, sir?"

A shadow in the hidden corner took form into a man, and his presence immediately alarmed everyone in the room. Khun felt his blood run cold as he noticed that the man was none other than Jinsung Ha. From behind, Khun heard Hatz whisper anxiously, "Isu, that's him!"

The man's heavy stare fell all over them before he looked at Agni, and then at Bam and Grace. "They're all really something." The man blew out smoke from his cigarette. "But I don't see anything special about them that's worth the trouble."

Khun bristled at that, but he could only bite his tongue in fear. To think that Agni, who was clearly also a Khun, could interact with Jinsung Ha like this…was something Khun wasn't sure he would dare to.

Grace raised his eyebrow and gave the man his most unimpressed stare, while Bam looked at the man with his puppy eyes. After noticing their reactions, the man glanced at Agni, and then suddenly shifted his focus to Khun, which almost made him jump. Khun shuddered when the man started laughing. 

"Ah. Of course, of course." The man walked up to Agni and patted his shoulder. "I will take your word for it. They better not disappoint."

Agni smiled with confidence, "That I can promise you, sir."

"Very well, I will leave you kids to your game then." The man walked past him into the corridor, waving his hand in dismissal and not looking back. "Until we meet again."

Grace and Bam bowed a little at the parting figure, and replied with a renewed vigor. "Take care, Master!"

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[crystalmagpie447]

I want to see your sea sun and moon.

IF they are cute enough they get a gift bc babies get gifts

(I give it anyway to higher their self-esteem)

(It's a fish snack and a toy for each of them)

YEAAAAA YIPPEE They are so happy for the plushies and snacks!!!!! they will keep them forever

ehehe

snatched my ipad back for this

AJNJDE