#Image Comics House Ads

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE THEIR COMICS DARK -- THE ULTIMATE CROSSOVER EVENT OF '94?

PIC INFO: Resolution at 7752x1144 -- Spotlight on an Image/DC Comics House ad for "Spawn/Batman," the 1994 one-shot intercompany crossover comic book between the two aforementioned characters, written by Frank Miller with art by Todd McFarlane and published by Image Comics.

EXTRA INFO: The featured advert could be found as back cover art to "SPAWN" Vol. 1 #16 & 17 (December, 1993 & January, 1994). Published by Image Comics.

Source: https://forum.sanctuary.fr/t/page-s-de-pub/185608/214?page=9.

[magic-worms]

i drew this right after reading comic 7 and then i forgot about it, oops

+ my scout family related thoughts and headcanons under the cut! i realized that they’d pair well with the above comic

[evilhorse]

Image house ad circa October 1993

[comicweek]

[elliewrites77]

Uncle!Sukuna Part 6

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7

masterlist

Uncle!Sukuna who puts his plan for a second date on temporary hold. The day after the incident with Yuji, you sat him and Sukuna down for that "talk" about why they shouldn't resort to violence, and what other methods they could use to get their emotions out. He hated every second of it. But he did enjoy watching you in your professional element. You were stern and serious, but still had a gentleness about you that showed you actually cared.

Uncle!Sukuna who was falling, real hard, real fast.

But he pushed that aside, instead offering to take Choso out for the day that weekend. He could tell the boy needed some cheering up, and your worry was only getting worse, so he offered to take Choso to some "kid-appropriate guy stuff", and asked you to help Yuji with the finishing touches on his project. Both boys were up for it, and when Saturday hit, you and Yuji waved Choso and him goodbye.

Uncle!Sukuna who couldn't deny that the car ride was a little awkward. He still wasn't very good with kids, and honestly, he was starting to wonder what he was thinking when he offered to do this. He liked the kid, sure, but he knew very little about him. One thing he did know was that Choso and himself were very bad with people, and general socialization wasn't really their thing. So from the house to the mall, the car was silent.

It wasn't until he parked, turning the car off, that Choso spoke.

"I know you like my mom."

Sukuna is silent, stunned by the sudden call-out. He stares out the windshield blankly before his eyes move to the rearview mirror, meeting Choso's. Th boy looks calm and sure.

"You don't have be friendly with me just to get on her good side. She already likes you too." Choso added after a short period of silence.

His words make Sukuna's brow furrow. He ignores the part about you liking him back, turning his head to glare straight at the boy.

"Listen, brat. You're here with me because I wanted you to be, not so I could get brownie points with your mom. Now say something like that again, and I'll throw you in the mall fountain." He quickly got out of the front, leaving Choso to blush at his words. He has a small smile on his face when he climbs out.

Nothing more was said as they walked into the mall. Sukuna took him to the comic store first, that being the whole reason they were there. He watched as the kids eyes lit up, looking around at all the images of his favorite superhero's . It made Sukuna smirk.

"Get what you want. If you see something you think Yuji would like too, let me know." He said before they split up. Choso went to look for his favorites, making sure to keep an eye out for Yuji's too.

Sukuna kept his eye on the kid as he browsed, not caring much about looking at the selection. But his eyes caught on one of the covers, making him pause as a memory surfaces from the pits of his brain.

A young Sukuna is approached by his twin, the younger of the two having his usual grin on his face, while his older brother had nothing but a scowl. Sukuna barely acknowledged his brother until he is standing in front of him, looking far to excited for no reason at all.

"What?"

"It's our birthday tomorrow!" Jin replied. Sukuna rolled his eyes.

"I know that, idiot. Like you said, it's our birthday."

"Well I wanted to give you your present early."

Sukuna looked at his younger twin, confused. They never got each other gifts.

He doesn't get a chance to ask before Jin pulls out a flat, wrapped gift from behind his back. He holds it out to Sukuna, his grin never wavering. Sukuna slowly takes it, holding it in his hand for a second with a skeptical look on his young face.

"Open it." Jin encouraged.

Sukuna listened, tearing off the wrapping paper slowly to reveal a comic book still preserved in the plastic. Sukuna examines the cover, recognizing it as one he's seen Jin read before, one that Sukuna had actually been interested in reading (though he never said that).

"I know you've wanted to read it, so i thought I'd get you a copy. That way, it's something we can enjoy together." Jin admits, practically bouncing up and down with his excitement for Sukuna's reaction.

The older twin is surprised by the thoughtfulness of the gift, and his twins desire to have something they can share. It makes his chest feel full, but he clears his throat in an attempt to appear unaffected. Even at 10, he preferred appearing reserved.

"Uh..thanks, loser." He says after a second, ignoring his brothers grin. Jin can see right through him. "I didn't get you anything." He adds.

"That's okay. Just make sure to tell me what you think once you've read it."

Jin leaves, and Sukuna is left looking down at the colorful cover.

That comic was one of the few things Sukuna ever shared with his brother. It was one of the few things they could talk about and enjoy, finally having a common ground. Sukuna would never had said it before, but he could admit, at least to himself, now that this one comic brought him and Jin a little bit closer.

Which is why he picks it up, not bothering to look at anything else when he moves toward Choso. The kid had already picked out a few comics, some for him, some for Yuji (though he couldn't read that well yet). The two checked out, before making their way through the rest of the mall.

They walked through a few stores, Sukuna buying whatever Choso wanted without complaint. The kid was grateful each time, not expecting Sukuna to do so. But eventually, Sukuna was tired of hearing "are you sure? thank you" over and over.

"Say thank you again and I'll take it all back." He threatened. Choso laughed, nodding in agreement. Sukuna wasn't as intimidating when you got to know him.

They finished their afternoon with some food in the food court, before leaving with plenty of bags and two full bellies.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

The care ride back was far less awkward, but the two still didn't talk much. They simply enjoyed the low music playing through the radio, and the easy ride home.

When they were close to the neighborhood, Choso spoke up.

"If you and my mom get married, would that make Yuji my brother?"

Sukuna blinked in surprise, glancing at the boy in the mirror. Choso had a curious look on his face, genuinely wondering.

"Yuji isn't my son." Sukuna answered after a moment, ignoring the feeling he gets at the idea of marrying you.

"So he'd be my..cousin?" Choso asked. That wasn't as cool as 'brother' but it wouldn't be too bad.

"I...I guess. Technically, yeah." Sukuna answered, trying to brush it off with a shrug. He didn't know why they were talking about this. "But your mom and I aren't even dating, so don't worry about shit like that."

"But you both want to date. Don't you?"

"Don't you have other things to worry about, brat? Since when are you so damn nosey?"

"Mom says it's good to be curious and ask questions."

"Yeah well, not about this. Just worry about your comics and your ma and I will worry about..all the other stuff."

Choso huffed, not happy with his question going unanswered, but figured it didn't make sense to push it. Not right now, at least.

"Well, I like you. And Yuji. So I hope, even if you don't date my mom, you both stick around." Choso admits. Sukuna looks back at him again.

"Yeah?" He sees Choso nod. "Well I...we like you too kid." He says, his voice a lot quieter and soft. His eyes return to the road, right as they turn down the street to your house.

Neither of them say anything more, but both feel a little bit lighter at the confession.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

Uncle!Sukuna who walked into your house a few minutes later, to the sound of upbeat music playing and two voices, very off tune, singing along. He shares a look with Choso, before they walk further in. They stop at the kitchen, seeing you and Yuji dancing around together while seemingly baking. There's a sheet of cookies already laid on the counter to cool, telling Sukuna you both have probably been at this for a bit. He smirks as the smell finally catches up with Choso, who rushes forwards towards the two of you. The sound of his steps catches your attention.

Once again, Sukuna is sure his heart stops when you give your son a large grin, hugging him tightly. It gets worse when you look up, giving Sukuna the exact same beautiful smile.

You turn down the music as he walks into the room fully, Yuji immediately running towards his uncle to be picked up. His bright grin is in place as he starts to ramble about the things the two of you did. He's talking so fast that Sukuna can't understand but a few words, but he doesn't bother interrupting the boy. He simply holds him with one arm, staring at him with a raised, unamused brow. He sees you and Choso talking out of the corner of his eye.

Once Yuji has calmed down a little, you turn to look at them with another smile, handing Choso a cookie while you do.

"Did you get me anything, Uncle Kuna?" Yuji asks, staring at the man expectedly. Sukuna scoffs, wanting to call the boy spoiled for thinking he got him something. But he couldn't, because Sukuna did in fact get his gremlin of a nephew stuff.

"Yeah, but don't expect me to every time. I'm not gonna let you get spoiled." He glares slightly. Yuji ignores that completely, clapping happily at his uncle's words. He wiggled, wanting to be put down to go play. "tch. can't ever stay still." Sukuna mumbled as he set Yuji down. The kid immediately took off, grabbing Choso's hand on his way and dragging the surprised boy to another room of the house.

"Don't know where he's going. The shit's still in the car." Sukuna says with a smirk. His words make you laugh, bringing his attention back to you. "How was he?"

"He was lovely. We finished the project, I think it will score good, and then he wanted to bake some. Said his mom used to make cookies all the time, so I thought it would be a nice treat and help cheer him up." You answered. Sukuna was a little surprised at the mention of his late sister-in-law. Yuji didn't really talk about his parents much. But he didn't think much of it.

"They smell good. Surprised you let him have any before dinner." Sukuna smirked, knowing how strict you usually are about desserts before supper. He moved closer, leaning on the counter as you took the last back of cookies out of the oven.

You huffed playfully, setting the cookies down to cool.

"Well I'm not a monster. Finishing the project was a little emotional for him, so I wasn't gonna be strict with him about something as little as this." You replied. Sukuna frowned slightly at that, but he could understand why. "Also, I don't think I've ever heard of a pair of twins who are so totally opposites, I honestly wouldn't have known you were both related in any other situation." You teased.

"Wait, how'd you know Jin was my twin?" Sukuna asked, thrown back by your knowing something that he definitely never told you. Sure, you saw pictures, but him and Jin looked nothing alike, so surely the twin thing wouldn't be easy to assess. It was your turn to be confused, and you gave him a look as though the answer was obvious.

"Yuji, of course. He mentioned it a while ago. Did you not think that would ever come up?"

"Yuji talks about his parents that often?"

"Of course he does. He talks about them all the time. His dad apparently told him a lot about you, so he talks about that too."

Sukuna was shocked. Yuji hardly ever talked about his parents to him. He thought the kid was just a silent griever, like him, but apparently that wasn't the case. Sukuna frowned as he tried to understand why Yuji wouldn't want to talk about them with his own uncle.

You see this, understanding immediately where his confusion was coming from.

"Does he...not talk about them with you?" You ask softly.

"..No. not really. I figured he just..didn't like talking about them. Figured it might be hard for him." Sukuna answers. His frown turns to a slight scowl at the feeling that he might be doing something wrong. If Yuji wasn't coming to him to talk, didn't that mean he wasn't doing what he needed to in order to show the kid he could be there for him?

His thoughts are interrupted by your hand on his arm, and his eyes snap to meet yours.

"I don't think Yuji is the one who has trouble with it." You said gently. He got what you meant. "If you want to know why he doesn't, I think you should ask him." You added, just as the boys ran back into the room.

Sukuna watched as they excitedly showed you something they drew, contemplating your words. He knew you were right, you always were. He just didn't know how the hell to go about it. Talking wasn't his forte, none of this was, but especially not that.

But he remembered he told himself he would be better, and wanted Yuji to be open with him, even if he struggled with that himself. So he knew he'd have to figure out a way to talk to the brat, sooner rather than later.

He decided to save that for later tonight, though, when you turned to him with another pretty smile, as Yuji runs towards him to shove his drawing into the mans face.

Uncle!Sukuna who gets offended when you offer to pay him back for everything he got Choso, simply walking away without dignifying you with a response. He basically pouted as he helped you make dinner, making it seem like you has actually insulted him. It made you laugh.

Uncle!Sukuna who isn't surprised when he finds Yuji and Choso passed out on the couch once more. In the short time after dinner, while Sukuna help you clean up, they had gone to watch some TV. He will never understand how they can go from so energetic to snoring and halfway falling off of the couch.

Uncle!Sukuna who smirks when Yuji actually does fall off of the couch. He still didn't wake up, making Sukuna shake his head in disbelief. He was pretty sure the kid could sleep through anything.

Uncle!Sukuna who approached your bed room, knocking on the door softly. He couldn't help but admire you when you opened the door, obviously getting ready to go to bed soon. You smiled again, opening the door to allow him inside.

"They're asleep aren't they?" You assumed with a chuckle. He smirked, nodding as he examined your room.

"Knocked out." He confirmed.

"Yuji can stay here tonight, if you don't want to carry him back to yours." You offered, looking at him through your mirror. His brow raised, smirk growing.

"What about me? Can't I stay too?" He teased, giving you a flirty smile. You flushed, breaking eye contact and shaking you head fondly.

"You can if you'd like." You replied after a moment, looking back at him. You see his smile drop in surprise, making you smirk. "Plenty of room on the couch for you." You added, teasing him.

His shoulders dropped, a scoff leaving him as he shook his head. His reaction made you chuckle. He moves closer and you turn to face him fully.

Sukuna remembers he had a plan, to ask you out on another date. And while this wasn't how he intended to do it, it feels like the perfect time.

"Tease," He grumbled. His hands settled on your waste, holding you just like he did when he kissed you. "What are you doing next weekend?" He asked.

You flushed, hands going to his chest because you weren't sure when else to put them. This was the closest you two has been since your date.

"Um, nothing specifically. Choso won't be here, so I was just gonna get some stuff done around the house. Why?" You replied. You could guess why he asked, but you wanted to be sure before getting your hopes up.

"How about we get to that second date?" He asked, doing his best to appear confident in his questioning. He hoped you were on the same page.

Your instant smile reassured him that you did.

"Oh yeah? I don't know, the house could really use a deep clean." You teased. He scoffed, glaring at you with no heat behind it.

"Don't be a brat." He replied, making your smile grow. His jaw clenched as he hesitated. "You..do wanna go on another one, right?" He forced himself to ask. He wanted to be clear with you, straightforward to the best of his ability.

Your smile softened.

"Yes, Sukuna. I'd love to go on another date with you." You said. The look of relief on his face made you want to tease him more, but you decided to give him a break.

He smirked softly, pulling you closer. He didn't say anything more, and neither did you. You ended the night with a soft, sweet kiss, before he left your bedroom. He took Choso and Yuji to bed in Choso's room, before actually laying on your couch. Both of you fell asleep with little smiles, feeling more secure in whatever it was between the two of you than before.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

let me know what you think! also, would ppl like to see a snippet that's about reader and Yuji's afternoon together while sukuna and choso aren't there? I realize sometimes i focus too much on one dynamic and might leave another out a bit. I assure you guys there will be plenty more about sukuna and reader in the next part! I just think it's important to build their relationships with Yuji and Choso.

I'm thankful for any constructive criticism! Thank you for reading, and all the support <3333

barely proofread

[melinoelabs]

Dear Sirs.

SCP-682's powers are metatextual. He's unkillable because the story says he is nearly unkillable and no solution would be satisfying. His nickname is 'the very hard to destroy reptile' for rigour's sake. You don't have to be Grant Morrison to put this together.

The solution is to alter the narrative so that there is a means of killing him that is satisfying. Unfortunately, only full-on apocalypse scenarios or the use of SCP-682 as a jobber for an even worse threat would fill that criteria.

So unless you want to unleash something even more tiresome, like the Black Moon or the Scarlet King or the Yellow Submarine or whatever other color-coded doomsday monster you have on tap, you're just wasting jumpsuit filling doing anything at all.

The easy alternative is to simply stop trying to kill him.

Just focus on holding him in the most boring, routine ways possible, rendering him increasingly less interesting and thus reducing the time between stories focused on him and thus, the resulting breaches and disasters.

Or you can do what we did. If you aren't chicken.

Ours wasn't a rotted lizard. It was a sort of mummified horse the size of a 1996 Volkswagen Harlequin, and it was a she, but otherwise same deal. Regeneration. Vat of acid. Mass casualties. Violent opposition to the use of breath mints. Endemic to all life. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

We figured out the how it worked, and we speed-ran the whole concept, hurling that vile beast through a veritable plinko-fall of thousands of extermination tests and controlled rampages until there was literally nothing left to do with the 'More-Than-One-Way-to-Fail-to-Kill-a Horse'.

And we trust the populace enough to not lie to them for 'their own good'. Because its funny? Sure. Profitable? Absolutely (don't worry, shareholders!)! But never for 'their own good.'

So we turned those experiments into a 17 season reality television program hosted by Greg Kinnear and force-fed them to a sludge-hungry populace.

There were 'More-Than-One-Way-to-Fail-to-Kill-a Horse' calendars, coffee mugs, t-shirts, two different animated spin-offs running at the same time for some reason, four movies starring Chris Pratt as the voice of the horse, an ongoing sketch on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, 'More-Than-One-Way-to-Fail-to-Kill-a Horse' "acid bath" sour candy flavored yogurt in a tube, a series of increasingly inadequately playtested gameboy cartridges, a 27-issue limited series from Image comics, and adorable plush mummified murder-horse plushes with little suction cups on their red-felt hooves so they can stare balefully out the back of your station wagon at that ASSHOLE Kevin in his souped up Trans AM who does not understand the concept of a safe following distance, and you JUST want to run him off the road with the magno-lifters and recreate the scene from Lost Highway with Robert Loggia, but "you can't use the magno-lifters for revenge" because it's "against OSHA regulations" and "technically assault!"

And once the first shipment of 'More-Than-One-Way-to-Fail-to-Kill-a Horse' Funko Pops hit store shelves, the creature's cultural cache cratered so hard that it became a parody of itself so predictable it's "containment" is now a Universal Studios attraction with two failed executions and a containment breach each night, with double shows on Saturdays.

Now, it was a rocky ride getting there, especially for Utah (projections say you'll get those House seats back in two, maybe three, generations at most, don't you worry!) but we've proven that even if it isn't killable, you can, in fact, beat a dead horse.

Hope this helps.

Humbert, Outreach Liaison Melinoë Laboratories "Hoc non veniet ad nos mordax"

[speared-mint]

Turbo cosplay for MCM!❤️‼️🏎️

I am going to be cosplaying turbo from wreck it Ralph for October MCM comic con on Saturday! (Feel free to stop and ask for a picture if you spot me!)

I’ve just fully completed my Turbo cosplay (exept for the shoes, they’re currently getting painted) A bit last minute with buying and making the clothing but I think it looks great!..or should I say Turbotastic..?

Here’s the back of it as well! I decided to take artistic liberties with the design since from all the images I saw of turbo, the back or the pockets were almost always slightly different from each other (and also the concept art for turbo in the wreck it Ralph artbook was a massive inspiration)

I made the pockets slanted to match with the overall’s pocket area and also added on a massive “T” on the back! (perhaps to signify his ego..? Nah,I just thought it would look cool!)

Cosplaying as weird little freaks fills me with unmatched whimsy and wonder!!

(I’ve been wearing this around the house all the time, I’m metamorphosing into turbo, help •_•)

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I'd actually love a midnights storytelling Timeline playlist? Like what order you'd place them to tell the complete story of the album. I love the idea of Dear Reader as track 1

OK so, one caveat is that generally I think Taylor's tracklisting works really well and often tells a story of its own (e.g. TTPD), so I'm a little reticent to mess with that. And next thing is that like, we don't always have firm dates about when songs were written/what events they refer to/even who they were about depending on the album, so like, you can't really pinpoint a timeline *chronologically* of events as they transpire most of the time, certainly on Midnights. And also writing/processing isn't linear. @likeadevils does however have excellent posts about album timelines and places the songs in order of creation if that's what you're after.

Now that that's out of the way...

There are a few different ways I could see organizing Midnights thematically, and I'm approaching here kind of, emotionally-speaking rather than chronologically, although there's kind of a weaving of the two. I've split them into "chapters" à la folklore playlists on Spotify.

Prologue: To a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's there

Dear Reader

Act 1: A real fucking legacy

Midnight Rain Would've, Could've, Should've Maroon Question…? High Infidelity

Act 2: Love blackout

Labyrinth Snow on the Beach Lavender Haze Paris Glitch Mastermind Karma Sweet Nothing

Act 3: Sweet dream was over

The Great War Bigger Than The Whole Sky Vigilante Shit Bejeweled Anti-Hero Hits Different You're Losing Me

Epilogue: Yeah, you can face this

You're On Your Own, Kid

So this is how I see the chapters:

Prologue:

This is the introduction to the themes of the album, very much the same way that Fortnight does for TTPD. (I love me a "Two households, both alike in dignity / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene" setup.) Dear Reader does this really well, she's speaking directly to the listener, but also to herself, and touches upon the themes throughout the album: anger, loss, fear, self-loathing, self-destruction, but also the recognition that she "shines so bright." It's the push-pull between her private and public life, her personal and professional ambitions, and that is ALL over the album and each side informs the other.

I could also argue adding Anti-Hero and Midnight Rain into this chapter and nearly did. Anti-Hero because again, it touches the public image vs. internal struggle/self-loathing of it all, which she is ruminating on on this sleepless night. And Midnight Rain because "I never think of him except on midnights like this" because well, that is the entire conceit of the album.

Act 1: A real fucking legacy

Like I said above, I nearly put Midnight Rain in the Prologue, but it also serves well as an introduction to the theme in these songs. Because "I never think of him except on midnights like this" covers these relationships from the past that are haunting her in this dark night of the soul exercise. Remember what we said about the push and pull between her personal life and her career? The crux of the song isn't her pining for this former lover, it's that she's wondering if her pursuing her ambition relentlessly and joyously is diametrically opposed to the idea he represents. It's the spark that lights the flame of the pining we see later on. Which leads to the other Hes who have marked her life and set her on the path she's on now.

So in contrast to the bittersweet nostalgia, we have the darker side of that rumination. There's WCS about the trauma that continues to haunt her, and Maroon about a relationship breakdown that broke her. Question...? Kinda is just there for laughs as comic relief-- but in all seriousness is like, "you were a dumbass and do you ever wonder if you hadn't been such a dumbass if we could have made it work?" About something that never got off the ground. And then High Infidelity ends the chapter on another darker note about the threat within a relationship, but the "Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?" is the segue for our next chapter...

Act 2: Love blackout

This is where we get a sense of the core relationship she's dancing around in the album-- the one that is driving all this rumination, because it's so intricately tied with the path her life took as a result. The "Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?" to "I thought the plane was going down, how'd you turn it right around?" emotional parallel hits the ground running and tells you why this relationship and this phase is such a lifeline. SOTB is the honeymoon phase of the relationship, where everything is wondrous and exhilarating, and pairs well IMO with Lavender Haze in that the rush of new love is intoxicating, and she wants to stay on that high and block everything out to chase it.

The rest of the songs I put here kind of meander, but there was a method to my madness. Paris feels like the memories of a special time, with the emphasis of it being them alone, shutting the world out, which is a continuation of LH. Glitch is her continued disbelief that they've made it this far, but suddenly it's six years later and she's still yearning that high (... in spite of everything telling her this wasn't supposed to happen). Mastermind could have arguably gone earlier in the list, but I put it here because again, she's planning and scheming and doing all the work to keep this thing going against all odds. Karma feels very "happily ever after"-esque in that it's, "I went through all this shit, but it's totally fine because I got what I wanted in the end!" without giving away that it's a veneer, and finally we end with Sweet Nothing because it's the sweetest fantasy of running home to your lover and feeling content and complete. Which brings us to...

Act 3: Sweet dream was over

Our last full act, which is all about loss and the ways in which one reacts and deals with it. The Great War is the bubble bursting that Sweet Nothing dreamed up. It's a crisis point in the relationship, an entire life built that is potentially going up in flames; it hints at the conflicts that would prove to be their undoing. BTTWS is a raw depiction of grief in the wake of loss, and the questioning and despair that goes along with that, sinking someone into the pits of depression and loneliness. Vigilante Shit is another reaction to loss-- this time unadulterated anger in the form of a revenge fantasy. (It's fantasizing about agency in a situation where there is little of it because like BTTWS, in many ways it's out of her hands.)

Bejeweled is a bit of the odd duck because I kind of wanted to put it near-last because I think it's the best transition into YLM, but thematically it's not quite ready for prime time yet-- although the same conundrum applies to Anti-Hero here. But Bejeweled is part of this chapter because it's her grappling with her sadness and despair and wanting to break out of it. She wants to shine again, and it's a warning to the person that she won't stick around if they don't see that. (Broadly speaking, I know there's more there.) Anti-Hero is kind of clunky here, which is why I'm very tempted to put it in the intro instead, but my thinking is: she's in this pit of self-loathing, wondering why she keeps making the same choices and same mistakes and drives everyone away. She's the problem. And it's her persona, her big life, that's driving her to this madness-- or is it? (But also: one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving and life will lose all its meaning for the last time.)

Which finally brings us to Hits Different and YLM. Honestly, these two could also swap positions, and I went back and forth on them. I think "chronologically" HD makes more sense at the last song in this chapter, but "emotionally" YLM is SUCH a fitting end, so there we go. HD makes good on the threat of the break in The Great War, and a lot of the themes we've seen throughout the playlist here but specifically this section are present. The self-destruction and self-loathing of AH, the anger and lashing out in TGW and VS (in a very different form), the depression in BTTWS and even a tinge of the self-worth in Bejeweled.

But YLM is the true denouement of this all and reflects all those same vignettes in far more devastating fashion. There's breakdown, loss, anger, spite, self-destruction and standing up for herself too, however briefly. I think it really feels like the true crossroad of the album: Do I throw out everything we built or keep it? We've just spent a whole album wading through all of it, and now she's left to decide which path to take. Does she stay and fight, perhaps wondering what she has to give up int he process, or does she leave and risk the pain she uncovered in Act 1, only tenfold because it hits different this time? The empty house of Dear Reader in the Prologue (and incidentally in HI I've just realized) is blanketed in darkness in YLM, and it's up to her to decide if she's turning the light back on or out for good.

Epilogue: Yeah, you can face this

You're On Your Own Kid feels like the perfect emotional ending for this playlist because not only does the song travel through this entire time period, from an early young love that gave way to bigger dreams to the sheer devastation she put herself through to reach the very top and the subsequent crash. And it feels like it answers the question asked in the previous chapter: Yeah, you can do this. You've come back from every setback and you'll be able to do it again. You've always ultimately had to rely on yourself, and you'll do it again and again until you pull yourself out. The song is full of such sad revelations, but it also ends on a hopeful, if bittersweet note. She might be playing solitaire for now, but doesn't mean she can't handle it.

It feels wrong to mess around with Taylor's tracklisting like this, but it was so much fun 😂 I loooooooove delving into the themes in her albums and I really find like the emotional journeys within them become more salient as time passes on too.

Honestly, I can't say it enough, I loved the pre-release playlists for TTPD too, if you're looking into this kind of emotional deconstruction of her discography at large. The beats within the playlists themselves make so much sense, and I think frames the songs within them really well. Just my two cents!

[catghoststories]

I really wanted to try my hand at the human designs for Welcome Home, and this idea has been in my head.  It’s been a while since I’ve made a comic, so it’s messy, but hope you enjoy!  I may end up adding more pages 😅…

[Image Description & Text: Frank is waving to Eddie as he walks by his house on his mail route.  Frank looks after him longingly when Julie pops up out of the bushes. 

Julie: You have a crush on him, don’t you? Frank, blushing: Don’t be ridiculous.  He’s…fine. Julie looks doubtful. Julie: Ooh, go check your mail!  I sent you something! Frank: All right… Frank holds a letter from Eddie.  It is addressed to him and has a butterfly stamp. Julie: Ooh, a letter from Eddie??  What does it say? Frank opens the letter.  It reads, “Dear Mr. Frankly, I found this butterfly stamp and thought of you.  I hope you like it!  Sincerely, Eddie Dear.”  He signs it with a heart at the end of his name.  Frank imagines Eddie saying hi to him with hearts around his head.

Frank, defeated: Oh no.  I do have a crush on him. Julie, excited: Knew it!!]

[madischoolreport]

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! NO! It's a SUPER AD!

Share an image of a sign/ad with a key concept in action. You heard it here first folks! The Amazing SUPERMAN in PRINT! Hear of his greatest exploits and his most dastardly villains!

Ahh, the 1960's. I remember it well. It was several decades before I was born and DC Comics were coming in HOT with Superman! The key concept here may not be very identifiable at a glance, but with the aid of Superman's X-RAY VISION, I'll shed some illumination! The concept I'm highlighting here is audience, and for a big reason.

When you think of advertisements, what do you think they are trying to promote? "Hey, I know you're having fun over here, but we paid the service you're on to tell you about our product that we have over here!" It's usually advertisers pointing to their product through other products. You see it in baseball stadiums telling you to get Geico, you see it on billboards telling you to read a bible or you'll combust, you see it on YouTube telling you to shop at Temu or vote one way or another (election season amirite?). But one ad that you might not think about are the HOUSE ADS! Out of all the advertisements, I, personally, find them to be the most wholesome. House ads are advertisements that promote internally. That is to say ads that promote themselves. In comics, you'll see regular ads for shaving products or even Geico again? Are you kidding me, how are you everywhere? But when making comics, the editors will intentionally leave blank space to put those pesky little Geico ads in there. But, occasionally, there will be spaces that aren't filled by Geico and nobody is paying for ads there. So they will do some self-promotion! This has two big purposes. One is obviously is to fill up ad space since they can't just have a blank page, but the other purpose is to get the audience excited and wanting to learn more about other series that they are putting out. So it gets consumers interested in other products that they are selling. And since they're already reading comics that they bought, they're more likely to give the advertisement a try as it is typically more of similar products or content. Who better knows their audience than the people who already have them hooked?

(Heya, I got a lot of info, as well as the Superman image from author Dan Greenfield at this link. I wasn't alive at the time of the ads posting, but it is fun to learn about them from the perspective of people who were around at the time! Give it a read, it's really interesting looking back through time!) Source: https://13thdimension.com/paul-kupperberg-my-13-favorite-1960s-dc-comics-house-ads/

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE HEAVIEST OF HEAVIES TAKING ON THE BADDEST ANTI-HERO IN THE DARK AGE OF COMICS.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on promotional advertisements for "SPAWN" Vol. 1 #8-11 (1993), published throughout various issues of Image Comics.

MINI-OVERVIEW: "In 1992, seven superstar artists left Marvel to form Image Comics.  While their comics were a runaway success right off the bat, they faced criticism that the writing wasn’t very good, since the artwork took priority.

In response, Image’s Todd McFarlane invited four of the most critically acclaimed comic book writers to each write an issue of his series "SPAWN."  In this highly publicized event, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim, and Frank Miller were set to write "Spawn" #8-11, respectively."

-- CONCRETE GRAY (WordPress), "Comics Written by Alan Moore, then by Grant Morrison," published March 26, 2019

Source: https://tractorforklift.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/comics-written-by-alan-moore-then-by-grant-morrison.

[primeofprimes115]

Overwhelming Burden - Supergirl x Male Reader

Note: Fluff 🥰 and Angst 🥺

I've just read the Zero Hour 30th Anniversary comic #1 not long ago and... Honestly, it's such a good comic, biggest highlight for me is seeing Supergirl wearing a black suit with the silver S on the suit and cape, the silver belt, bracelets and black gloves (In the comic, there's instances where she's wearing black gloves or not which is a little weird but in this imagine, she'll be wearing black gloves, another image will be shown in the imagine later of her wearing black gloves) are a nice addition as well... And pants! Best suit I've seen in a while.

This is a world where Superman is dead, dead after his fight with Doomsday and where Batman never came back because he's broken, so pretty much retired and Batgirl is Gotham's Knight now while Supergirl is Metropolis's protector. Diana Prince is no where to be found so Donna Troy is the new Wonder Woman also. They what would be the New Trinity in those words.

Supergirl in this comic however is supposed to be Matrix aka Mae Kent, but DC for some reason wanted Kara Zor-El/ the original Supergirl to be mentioned in this rather than Matrix Supergirl which is a little odd but I'm not complaining. Spoiler for those but Donna named dropped Supergirl as "Kara" in the comic, so... I suppose it's Kara Zor-El, again it's a little odd, ain't complaining, I honestly don't mind.

So in other words... This imagine is inspired from this. Hope you enjoy!

Credit also goes to @bisupergirl for the pics!

Metropolis, once a city that was defended by a man who revolutionized the way Aliens were welcomed on Earth, a man that changed the world with more superheroes making their debut, along with the added threat of supervillains and those that had an agenda against him. He was a man who only found out he was in fact an Alien once he found out where he really came from.

His parents, Ma and Pa Kent, aka Martha and Jonathan, once told him he came from the stars one day, crashing down onto Earth in a small pod not far from where they lived in their farmhouse, and finding a newborn wrapped in a red cloth that would be used as his cape when he grew older to become...

Superman.

He inspired many, became Earth's Champion, defended Earth and Humanity from many threats, though he couldn't always do it alone, he eventually had allies that formed the Justice League that vowed to protect Earth from any known threat known to Humankind.

Clark Kent of the Daily Planet and from a little town called Smallville, Kal-El of Krypton, Superman, the Man of Steel, Man of Tomorrow, once an icon, a hero, a loving Husband and son to all that loved him.

He was once the fabled "Last Son of Krypton" until one day, that changed... When another pod came crashing down onto Earth, holding a young blonde haired girl, who was petrified, confused, unaware of how long it has been after being in hypersleep for many years, sent from her planet of Krypton alongside her cousin, before her pod was knocked off-course.

Kal didn't know at the time, but the arrival of this girl changed his life forever and for the better, this girl was his cousin, Kara Zor-El, who would later become Supergirl and wear the same colors and family crest, one that Clark learned more about from Kara, all about the House of El, their family, his and her parents... Some he already knew from the Fortress of Solitude that was created by the Kryptonian crystal that he put into the ice in the North Pole.

Things were going very well with Kara's introduction to Earth, adopted by the loving Danvers family, she took the name "Linda Lee Danvers" to blend in and hide her powers, though at times she wasn't great at controlling them, she was taught how to.

From going to Earth school, to meeting the one guy that she befriended, the boy named Y/N, which the two eventually began to fall for one another during high school, becoming somewhat high school sweethearts. Clark supported the fact Kara found someone she liked, someone to keep her on her toes when unexpected, she eventually introduced Clark to Y/N, letting him know of the other secret they hadn't told him yet. Their Kryptonian heritage which was a big surprise to the young boy at the time, she even took him on a flight to convince him further.

Around this time, Kara being 16 years old, she debuted as Supergirl, cousin of Superman. Embracing the whole Girl of Steel part of herself to defend her new home from enemies alike. Sporting a blue top with a red skirt and gold V-shaped belt, a short red cape with a golden S on the back as opposed to wearing the same S on her top with a red background just like her cousin, showcasing the House of El sigil proudly.

At first, the world wasn't sure how to accept Supergirl, but eventually not long after, they did with Superman's help. Kara was more happier than to be both Linda Lee Danvers and Supergirl.

But... Not everything is forever...

With some years going by and now with Kara have been Supergirl for three and a half years...

A Doomsday descended upon Earth... Many heroes answered the threat and couldn't stop it without cutting losses.

It was Superman who saved the day... But at a heavy cost...

His own life, succumbing to his wounds and the world fell silent once the news broke out.

Earth's Champion... Superman... Had been confirmed dead, giving out his life to fight Doomsday, the fight was nothing more than brutal and destructive, Metropolis was wrecked and battered by the events.

His death hit many heavily, Kara especially. There was supposed to be a surprise for Kara, before Doomsday came to be, but Y/N called the surprise off, in exchange to grieve, knowing it wouldn't be the right time to propose to the girl he has always loved.

In honor to grieve her cousin's death, Kara made the decision to change up her suit and colors, now sporting a black top, long cape and pants, with a silver V-shaped belt, bracelets and the S and shield, colored silver, even on the back of her new black cape had the S colored in silver, also supporting black gloves over her hands. The bracelets both have a diamond shaped sigil on the front, even the belt too, unlike her previous suit.

No longer blue, red and gold. Just a black and silver look, the world took notice of this change, seeing a black and blonde blur zoom past on multiple occasions throughout the world, it didn't take long for people to know it was Supergirl, now having a wardrobe change since the last time she appeared on camera months ago.

Some asked why? The obvious answer was simple... Coming from her.

"To honor my cousin" she said nothing more after. She refused to take anymore questions about anything else, it was nothing but a bother to her.

She became Metropolis's new protector, Earth's New Champion and part of the new Justice League that was put into place, post Doomsday and Superman's Death within a year later.

Kara was well known to he amongst the newer Wonder Woman and the Batgirl that has taken over Batman's duties after he mysteriously "vanished" when more forces played behind the scenes in that regard.

Meanwhile, still being Supergirl, her lover, Y/N, now loving Husband, having gotten married a few months ago, remained behind as the ever-loving House Husband, in their now shared apartment building, every day and night when Kara came back from her duties as Supergirl, he'd be the one greeting her when she came back.

But as of recently... Kara's been barely getting home than usual, skipping lunch dates, dinners, her usual work before she quit and the two had a fairshare of arguments then and there about the issue, as mostly every married couple eventually argues over something.

This morning was no different, it was the same as usual, Y/N always said that her being Supergirl didn't had to always be a thing, he wanted her to be Linda Danvers for a day or two, but she kept refusing the idea, Supergirl was needed day and night, it was her duty, her vow to fill in Kal's shoes.

Y/N made the argument that Superman wasn't always needed and this only infuriated Kara further, where their argument turned a little more heated. Y/N hated arguing with her about this, this was the first ever heated argument with her and he felt bad bringing it up. Kara was still hurting about Kal's death. There was one thing he did say that was true...

He felt neglected by her now, he hadn't been hugged by her in the last few weeks... Or even kissed by that matter and he missed having her lips on his

Kara was nothing but frustrated and moody mostly in the last few months, the last time he ever saw her smile much was during their wedding day and the entire week. It was like something switched off in her that caused her to be like this.

Could it be that something has happened? Something so bad, it's keeping her awake at night and not as the forgiving girl she was before?

She wasn't a Girl-Scout, but there was times she was, and it rarely shows today.

Y/N spent all day to himself once more, still thinking back on the argument he had with Kara this morning before she left, getting groceries, doing the laundry, keeping an eye on their cat, Streaky, before he eventually began to relax for the day. Not having to do any online work since Kara quit her Human job.

He sat on the couch, his Playstation controller in hand, playing a story-driven game before he paused it to go grab a drink.

His mind was still on the argument they had this morning, his eyes caught onto the plate of food, covered by tin-foil, dinner that was made for Kara for when she would come back at the usual time but again... She hadn't come back yet.

Y/N knew not to worry much, but it became increasingly hard for him, he loved her so much, despite the arguments they've had since getting married.

But he was worried, he was worried that she was beating herself up over everything that's happened, and it showed in her face, her body language.

The pair haven't kissed or hugged in the last two weeks and he missed being held, being kissed, being flown by her, he misses the old Kara, the old Supergirl...

The old Linda Danvers he fell in love with...

Just as he poured some fresh OJ, Y/N heard a pair of boots land on the wooden flooring by the window. He briefly looked to see Supergirl, his wife, who had seemed to look like she had been tossed around and thrown into the surface of the sun yet again, nothing more than usual.

His heart swelled to see her, but it hurt knowing she was probably still mad at him. He knew he wasn't wrong, but he just wanted to patch things up, like a normal married couple would.

"You're back" he stated the obvious with a lowered tone, but a tone she could pick up with her super hearing. "I... I was beginning to worry, but... I'm glad you're okay" he gave a little smile at the corner of his lips but it soon vanished after taking a sip of his drink.

Supergirl hadn't said anything back to him, she only looked at the TV to see what he had been doing in her absence, before noticing Streaky as she shakes her long, black cape, wiping off dust particles.

'Ugh, gonna have to get that cleaned up' he mentally noted before taking another sip from his drink. "I made dinner again, it's cold now but I ca-" a whooshing sound interrupted him and he was met by Kara who had zoomed up close to him after looking him in the eyes, completely surprising him. He almost dropped his glass of fresh OJ once she zoomed up at him in a nano-second.

"K-Kara?".

There was nothing but pain and hurt in her eyes before grabbing the sides of her cape and lunged her arms around him, wrapping her cape around him also as her body began to quiver and tremble.

She dug her face into the crook of his neck and her breaths became shaky, Y/N could only stand there with a surprised look on his face as Kara... The Girl of Steel, his wife, Supergirl, had began to break down emotionally from what it sounded like.

Then he could hear her sobbing into him, little sobs of sadness washing over her as she clung onto him hardly but gently, not wanting to let go just like any other time he'd tried to hug her.

"Y/N" she mumbled with a shaky breath into his neck, her messy blonde hair tickling the side of his face. "I-I-I" she couldn't speak her words, sadness overwhelming her as tears flushed down from her closed eyes that began to soak the T-shirt's fabric on his shoulder, crying even harder by the minute.

Y/N wrapped his arms around her figure quickly, who was clinging onto him like she was holding on for dear life, he accepted the hug he longed to get from her, it broke his heart hearing her sob and cry, feeling his shoulder getting wetter by the minute from all the tears she was shedding. Her words coming out trembling and mumbling nonsense

"Oh, Kara" Y/N cooed to her, rocking a little left to right while feeling the warmth of Kara's long cape wrapped around him and her, her arms holding him into place while a hug carried out.

"I-I... I'm so s-s-sorry!" she cried harder into him, her sobbing getting more prominent as Y/N tightened his arms around her, even his breaths began to get shaky at this moment, he felt her words hitting him in the heart. "I-I".

"Sshhh, i-it's okay" he cooed to her softly.

"N-N-No! I-It's not o-okay!" she denied that fact, struggling with her words still, but Y/N understood what she meant.

Yes... It wasn't okay, he could clearly see and hear it, with a crying Supergirl in his arms, also embracing him with her cape wrapped around him to cling onto him as she cries and sobs, overwhelmed by drowning dread and grief.

He always had a feeling eventually Linda/Kara L/N would be overwhelmed with this, mostly overwhelmed with the burden of being Earth's Champion twenty-four-seven, since Superman's death, she's been nothing but mostly Supergirl the entire time, the only acception she wouldn't be her superhero self was at the wedding and the week following that with the honeymoon.

"Let it all out, it's okay, my Sunshine" he cooed further though he stumbled on his wordings, calling her by a nickname he had for her, one she hadn't heard in a while which made her sob harder. "Let it all out" he told her once again, letting the broken Girl of Steel cry on his shoulder, just like he once told her that if she needed a shoulder to cry on, she's got him.

He could remember the days when they were in high school, remember when they were fifteen years old, he'd stop by the Danvers's place to hang out with Linda and her two other friends that she made in class, he remembered getting to know them better since he had different classes from them, and only a few classes where he and Kara would be seated near each other, often not sitting next to one another.

The days where he first began to crush on Linda, he found her the most adorable and smartest girl in the world, to him? She was everything he wanted. He didn't have much friends, most were into edgy stuff, which didn't match his tastes.

But Linda? She was into anything, she was cool to him, smart, had a sense of humor, was fun to be around and was pretty defensive for him against his bullies, once publicly embarrassing one of them by flipping him over her shoulder, on the verge of breaking the bully's arm, potentially ruining his placement for the basketball game coming up that time.

Once everything had calmed down, along with Kara's sobbing, and apologies were made about all the arguments they've been having, the two pulled back from the hug and kissed, lips-to-lips for the first time in two weeks, a kiss both surely had been missing, a long kiss between them with their lips slowly smacking off each other in a slow dancing way.

His hands caressed her cheek with his thumbs swiping away at any stray tears that fell down from her eyes which they did once they began to kiss, Kara's cape still wrapped around him and herself, not even thinking of letting go any time soon.

"Y/N" Kara broke the silence after the long kiss they had, the kiss she could clearly see that Y/N had been dreading for, a kiss of closure in other words. "I... I thought about what you said this morning, and... You're right, I have been... Neglecting you as of recently" she painfully admitted, her voice croaking as she spoke.

"No, no. I was wrong to say that" Y/N backed down from what he said, taking back the hurtful thing he said this morning. "I shouldn't have said that in the first-".

"No" she interrupted. "It's the truth. All I've thought since..." a pain arose in her chest as she felt it flare up from what she was about to say, struggling to speak a little.

"I don't think you need to say" he told her, knowing what she was going to say, as it was clear as day...

She took the burden of being the next Symbol of Hope, the carry on the shoes and burden that Superman alone carried with him through his actions and heroism, Supergirl was a role model to most, if not, all people as expressed through her actions and words alone. She didn't want to be like her cousin, she wanted to be her own person.

She once admitted to him the fact she was scared she'd end up losing herself because of the fact that there could be one day he might die and she'd have to pick up where he left off being Earth's Champion, but Clark gave her sound advice. Like him...

She had family and friends to help her carry the burden if she struggled, to carry on without him if he were to die, which happened.

"I visit that statue every day" she sniffled, looking into Y/N's eyes still. "Wishing he'd be here today still, wondering what it would be like to have him around again" she closed her eyes and sighed with a sadness that could be seen in her face. "I miss him... So, so much" she croaked.

"I know, I miss him too" he laid a finger under her chin and raised her head so he could look into her eyes, tears forming her eyes once more before one fell down onto Y/N's thumb. "But you're not alone, Kara. Being Supergirl twenty-four-seven hasn't done you good, you look stressed and tired, which is concerning considering Kryptonians don't get tired from what you've shown" he made a valid point across to her, but she seemed to have heard it before.

"You sound like Babs".

"Do I know?" he chuckled. "Well... If I was Barbara, I think she'd also be correct".

This prompted to make the Girl of Steel smile just a little, which was enough for him to point out with a little smile back at her.

"There she is, there's the smile".

"Don't ruin it" she groaned.

"I'd never" he smiled, giving out a little laugh that was a little contagious for Kara, a soft laugh escaped her before it died down, with her sighing next.

Y/N pushed a strand of Kara's hair behind her ear, seeing the other half of her face that was hidden by her golden hair. "I think... You should take off the suit and Supergirl" with his eyes he traced out the House of El glyph on Kara's chest. "...could use a good break for a little bit, you can have someone else fill in for you, clear your mind a little with me" Y/N suggested to her, though he knew she wouldn't like it, now that things had been settled between them, he wouldn't lose his chances.

And Kara knew it...

"I can heat up your dinner, or you can probably use your heat vision since it's quicker than the oven" he snorted, getting a faint laugh out from Kara while she smiled, his face brightened up again noticing it. "And we can also... Cuddle on the couch, put on a movie of your choice, not my pick because you know I'm picky" he suggested further.

"Or..." Kara unwrapped her arms off him for a moment before wrapping them back around, only around the crook of his neck this time around with her cape billowing slightly behind her due to the window being open still on a cool windy night. "I can take you on a flight?".

"Ohh" Y/N caught himself between two hard choices. "Hmm... Maybe tomorrow you can take me on a flight, how about that, Sunshine?" he answered.

"Deal" she nodded before smiling a little more, finally answering after a minute. Deep down he was right from earlier when she thought about it, her being Supergirl twenty-four-seven has done her no good, it put some strain on the relationships she's got with her loved ones, her adopted family especially and Y/N, who love her all the same, she had a prior visit to them before coming back, wanting to reconcile which was as emotional as it was already.

"It's your favorite, by the way, from your adopted mother's recipe" he smiled as Kara x-rayed the plate with the tin-foil over it, spotting a Lasagna and coming from him, it was Edna Danvers recipe of her Lasagna.

"I thought I smelled something familiar" she noted while looking at the plate.

"Go on" he gestured his head toward the plate.

"You want some? There's plenty left for us to share" she offered, unwrapping her arms off him and began to walk up to the plate.

"Nah, I'm good" he declined politely.

"You sure? In case you end up eying it up anyway" she smirked, taking off the tin-foil gently though unnecessary to do it gently.

"I had like... Maybe two plates earlier, cooked a bit too much, I'm full still" he gestured. I'll wait on the couch for you, gonna turn this game off and that".

"Okay, Love" she nodded and smiled before she looked at the food, her eyes soon lit up red before she quickly heated up the food with her heat vision, heating it up to the right temperature, just for her.

Taking the plate, she saw her Husband save his progress and switch off the game, she had a little fond memory of him kicking her ass at a fighting game when they were younger, back when things were simpler when Clark was still alive.

"Y/N" Kara broke the silence yet again.

"Yes, my Sunshine?" he answered.

"I love you, I really love you, you dork. Always remember that" she smiled once again, stabbing her Lasagna with a fork that was left on the table next to the plate earlier before taking it to her mouth to savor the taste of the food.

"I love you too, Linda L/N" he smiled back at her, her face noticeably brightened as she strolled over with her plate of food in hand... 

______________________________________________________________

Fin...

Word Count: 4078

[evilhorse]

Ascension house ad (from The Darkness #11 circa January 1998)

[comicweek]

Spawn / Curse of The Spawn House Ad

[kinglazrus]

Truce 2024

@charcoalhawk Happy Truce! Technically, I have not finished editing, but I didn't want to make you wait too much longer, so enjoy the first third of the fic! I will update this post with the full fic and an AO3 link when I finish editing tomorrow.

Prompt: Danny finds out that ghosts can have (non-blood blossom) food allergies

AO3 link to be added

—

Danny winces when the flash goes off, and rubs his eye as Sam’s camera spits out the photo. It will take a few minutes for the instant film to develop. Thirty seconds before they can make out basic shapes. A minute after that for the colours to settle in, and then one more until it’s at full contrast. But Sam plucks the photo from the ejection slot, raises her eyebrows at the still-white square, and tuts.

“You ruined it,” she says.

“Did not!”

“Yeah, I can feel it.”

Danny leans forward to snatch the photo out of her hands, but Sam scuttles backward across her carpet to escape. He could give chase, but it’s not really worth the effort, especially when Sam ends up in the far corner by her tipped over box of scrapbook supplies. Too much ammunition at her disposal.

Danny twists around to face Sam’s bed, where Tucker sprawls with one hand on a comic book and the other digging through a bowl of popcorn. “Come on, Tuck. Back me up.”

Tucker’s stare skips from Danny to Sam before sliding back to his comic, and he says, “I bet you blinked.”

Traitor.

Danny’s wounded noise is punctuated by Sam’s sharp laugh, and she keeps snickering under her breath as she grabs a marker. It takes less than thirty seconds for Sam to mark the photo with the date, select a handful—literally, she sticks them to her palm first—of ghost-themed stickers with complementary shapes and colours, and add the photo to the next empty page in her scrapbook with the stickers as a border. She even finds that empty page in a single flip. Danny has seen Sam’s mother attack a floral arrangement with the same precision, but wisely decides not to mention it.

Sam then scoops all the supplies back into the box with a single sweep of her arm and zero organization. (This, too, is like her mother, who has a drawer of trimmers and flower food and floral wire all in a jumble that Danny glimpsed once two years ago, and he’s still not certain it was real.)

“It’s fine,” Sam says as she shoves the box under her bed. “It’s as good as we’re going to get.”

“That’s not actually reassuring.”

“Here, look.” She shuffles back across the room, holding the scrapbook out to Danny and Tucker.

The colours haven’t finished developing, but the image is clear. Sam’s room with its purples and blacks and the occasional splash of red. Her curtains in the background, with deep shadows in the folds where the light can’t touch. The candles on her bedside table in the foreground, with their perfect little flames, or as perfect as a Polaroid camera can capture.

And Danny, sat cross-legged in the middle of her carpet, the air around him fuzzy and dotted with static, eyes wide, one pupil stretched and pinched in the middle, the iris around it a bit too green for his human form.

“Huh,” Tucker says. He’s holding the scrapbook now, though Danny didn’t notice him taking it, or even realize he was off the bed until that moment. “Should we be worried about that?”

Tucker turns to the previous page. This photo is dated a week prior, taken at Tucker’s house. Danny slouches on a beanbag chair, attention fixed on the monitor across from him. His pupil is normal, but the static remains. It’s in the photo before this one, too, and the one before that, and the one before that, all of them taken about a week apart. It takes a good ten photos for Danny to realize the field of static is growing smaller as they go back.

“So, I noticed something weird,” Sam says.

Danny glares at her. “Wow, really?”

“Just, look. Remember that extra credit project you did for biology?” Sam swats Danny’s hand away and turns the scrapbook to the very first page, revealing a picture of him and Tucker cuddling at the zoo. “It was only a few weeks after the accident. I didn’t even see it at the time, but a few days later I was going through my photos and spotted this.”

Sam taps Danny’s figure. It takes a few seconds of squinting before he sees it—a faint speckling around his body, little flecks that could be mistaken for damage if the photo weren’t only a few months old. The photo next to it is dated almost a month later, and the speckling is much more pronounced.

“I’ve taken a picture of you every week for the past few months to keep track, since I noticed it was growing stronger. I didn’t really think anything else would happen until your eye changed last month. And the pupils are new.”

“Oh, well, thank goodness for that. At least there’s something new,” Danny says.

“And you didn’t blink,” Tucker offers.

“This is bad, right? It seems bad.”

“We already knew you don’t photograph well.”

“I think digital files of me getting corrupted is a bit different than this, Tucker!” Danny flaps his hands at the scrapbook. This is great. Perfect! Just what he needs! A stock of evidence that could expose him if anyone found it. Not that Danny doesn’t trust Sam to keep the scrapbook safe—she did retrieve it from a box under her bed in the first place. But Sam isn’t the only person in the world who owns an instant camera.

It was fine when, a few days after the accident, they discovered Danny couldn’t be photographed by typical means anymore. No matter how many times Tucker tried it on a dozen different devices, the image was always corrupted, becoming a wash of static. But Sam’s Polaroid still worked, and so did the digital camera his parents made. He nearly panicked the first time his dad took a family photo after the accident, but apparently the Fenton camera’s ability to “capture a ghost in its truest form” means Danny looks normal in either form. No corruptions, no distortion. Just Fenton or Phantom.

How long will it be until that camera doesn’t work, either?

Danny wraps his arms around his head and groans.

“It might not be as bad as you think,” Sam says. “Before the eyes, I thought it was just your ghostly aura. But your powers are a lot stronger than they were a few months ago, and I think some of that is bleeding through in the pictures.”

“You think that sounds good? I don’t want to be more of a ghost.”

“Do you feel like more of a ghost?”

Would he even notice? He opens his mouth snap back, but Sam’s questioning look stops him.

“You don’t look any different,” Tucker says. “No fangs or pointy ears.”

“I don’t have those as a ghost.”

“You don’t have them as a ghost yet.”

Sam snaps the scrapbook shut. “Tucker, that’s not helping. But I have a theory. In more traditional ghost hunting, people use photography to capture what they can’t see with their naked eye. I don’t think you’re becoming more of a ghost, but as you get stronger, your ghostly aspects show up more on film. Your digital camera still works, right?”

Danny nods. They use it often enough that he would have noticed something by now.

“Then this”—Sam pokes Danny in the chest—“is still your ‘true’ form. But if you’re worried, we can always keep an eye out for pointy ears or fangs.”

Danny wants to pick through the scrapbook again, check every photo for something Sam might have missed. But she holds it tight in her lap and keeps looking at Danny like she knows exactly what he’s thinking. He’s so focused on the scrapbook that he doesn’t notice Tucker leaning in and making a peace sign until a shutter goes off.

Tucker lowers his phone and turns it around, his smile falling when he sees static. Squinting, Danny can only just make out what might be Tucker’s peace sign, and two brighter spots that are probably his own eyes.

“Aw, man,” Tucker says.

“Dude, what else did you expect?”

“I thought it might be different now since Sam’s pictures are. I still don’t get why that works but my stuff doesn’t.”

“Isn’t it some superstition that analogue technology works better around ghosts?” Danny asks.

“Your parents don’t use analogue!”

“My parents specifically design their gear to function around ghosts.”

“So unfair.”

Sam shrugs. “Those superstitions have to come from somewhere. Ghosts have probably been around as long as humans have. There has to be some truth to all those old stories. Like the blood blossoms.”

Sam isn’t looking at Danny when she says it. She’s turned away, returning her scrapbook to its place under her bed, so she misses the way Danny freezes for a second.

But Tucker doesn’t. “You okay?”

Danny forces himself to move, leaning back against Sam’s bed and folding his arms behind his head. “Yeah.”

It’s impressive how Tucker manages to say, “Dude, are you stupid? I know you better than that,” with nothing more than raised eyebrows. It’s also a bit rude.

Danny sticks his tongue out in return, but Tucker’s eyebrows don’t get any lower, and he has to look away or else he might crack. It’s stupid, getting worked up at just the mention of blood blossoms. It’s a flower. A couple petals on a stalk. Thinking of them shouldn’t make his skin hot and his chest tight and his tongue prickle.

He grips his knees and takes a deep breath, Tucker’s stare boring into him all the while. After a few seconds, Tucker says, “Okay,” and presses his leg against Danny’s. The warmth grounds him, and by the time Sam comes up from under her bed, his breathing has evened out.

“Think a salt line could stop him?” Tucker asks. He reaches up to the bed and grabs his popcorn. “Ooooooh, the great ghost boy, stopped by salty deliciousness.

“you said salt line, not salt...whatever this would be. Besides, popcorn would never betray me like that, no matter what Jazz thinks.” To prove his point, Danny grabs a handful and shoves it in his mouth. Buttery, salty, delicious popcorn. “I love you,” he says to it.

Tucker snickers. “Is Jazz still making your parents do that healthy diet thing?”

“Oh my God, yes, I hate it.” He sits up and puts on his best Jazz impression. “‘You need to take care of your body to care for your mind.’ It’s nice that she knows my secret, but I don’t think she realizes she doesn’t need to find ways to be useful. Just having her helps.”

“Maybe say that to her?” Sam says. “She probably feels bad that she didn’t mesh with the team. I get it. We’d be pretty upset if we couldn’t help you, right, Tuck?”

“Hm?” Tucker, as focused on the popcorn as Danny is, blinks. “Oh, yeah.”

“Okay, sure, but Sam. Please. She doesn’t let them buy chips. I haven’t eaten popcorn with salt and butter in a month.” Oh, how Danny has missed it.

“I bet there’s fudge,” Sam says.”

“Yeah, try and get my mom to stop making fudge. Or my dad to stop eating it. Jazz knows when to pick her battles.”

“And her enemy is popcorn.”

Danny nods solemnly. “It’s popcorn.”

[spooky-holtz]

I Put a Spell on You

Melissa Schemmenti x fem!reader

Genre: fluff (crack if you squint)

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: This is the first part in a little series that explores the mug from 'Delicate'. I really wanted to share some little ideas I had about the images that would be on it so stay tuned for some more parts bc I'm already writing them :)

Feedback is very much appreciated!

When the topic of Halloween costumes came up in conversation in the teachers’ lounge during a crisp morning at the beginning of October, you couldn’t help but join in with tales of your own previous looks. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all shared amongst the group when Jacob brings up his outfit from the year prior; one half of a matching Mario and Luigi costume with Zac.  

“You know, I’ve never actually done a couples costume,” you say to nobody in particular, thinking out loud as you stir sugar into your coffee in an effort to make it a little less bland. The conversation stops immediately, and every head turns to look at where you lean with your back against the counter, cradling your steaming mug.  

“Wait, what?!” Janine exclaims, her wide eyes only adding to her outrage. “Never? In your entire life?” 

“I guess, yeah,” you shrug, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. If you had known that every pair of eyes would be focused on your quickly reddening cheeks, you would never have opened your mouth. “I’ve just never been with anyone who was interested in that sort of stuff.”  

The silence in the room is tense. The fact that this group is so shocked at your little revelation is worrying to say the least but at least it shows they care, albeit about the wrong things.  

“Have you at least done a group costume with your friends?” Asks Jacob, his expression of concern and disbelief matching Janine’s comically wide eyes. You pause for a moment, looking up at a stain on the ceiling in a bid to avoid all eye contact as you recall various high school and college parties. Not once can you remember organizing a group costume.  

“Uhhh, nope. I’ve never done it,” you say, feeling brave enough to look back down and at the table directly in front of you. Barbara has turned in her seat to join the conversation, watching the two sides of the room like a tennis match. She’s clearly not as bothered as the rest of the room but happy to be involved, nonetheless. Your gaze shifts to Melissa who is looking over the rim of her cat-eye glasses at you, eyebrows furrowed, and lips pursed slightly in thought. The intensity of her stare makes you feel more uneasy than the rest of the room combined. You shuffle your feet and pull your eyes away from hers when Janine chirps up again.  

“I actually can’t believe it. I thought you would have been really into all that.” 

“Who says I’m not,” you shoot back. “I just didn’t have anybody that was willing to make themselves look like an idiot with me.”  

All through college you would have killed to enter a party, no matter how shitty the frat house venue was, with the Barbie to your Ken or the Buzz to your Woody on your arm. The memories of entering parties with your friends in ‘sexy cat’ costumes, trailing at the back dressed in a bright white Padme Amidala getup makes you chuckle.  

“Actually, the parties kinda remind me of that scene from Mean Girls, you know?” Most of the group chuckles along and nods in recognition, with only Barbara looking slightly confused. “I guess it was just never meant to be.”  

You push yourself off the counter and move toward the closest table. Pulling a chair out next to Barbara, you can’t help but feel a certain redhead’s gaze boring into the side of your head.  

“I say we change that,” she remarks, her first addition to the entire discussion. “I’ve already got my costume, and it’s pretty hot if I do say so myself, but we can easily make it a couples thing for ya.”  

Barb turns to you, shockingly overjoyed at the idea. Considering she didn’t get involved with Halloween, her enthusiasm at the prospect is unmatched.  

“Now wouldn’t that be lovely?” She gasps, looking between the two of you with an almost knowing glint in her eye. You think for a moment, looking over to meet green eyes and seeing them scrunched slightly as she smirks back at you, knowing that having Barbara on her side ultimately means you lose.  

“That’s really nice of you Mel, but we’re not a couple. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable with whatever talk will happen from certain people,” you almost whisper, trying to keep prying eyes of your co-workers that crane their necks to look over her shoulder from hearing.  One sharp look over her shoulder has them quickly backing down, instantly focusing their attention on the suddenly interesting paperwork that sits in front of each of them. Satisfied, Melissa continues.

“Hun, you really think that bothers me?” She says with a raised eyebrow, leaning forward onto the table, the grading she was doing completely forgotten about. “Please, I’ve had much worse said about me. Besides, having you by my side will only make my costume look better.”  

She punctuates her last statement with another wink and you feel your cheeks heat again, turning a violent shade of red.  

In the last year you’ve spent at Abbott you’ve grown to learn a lot about Melissa’s ‘persuasive’ personality and admittedly had fallen head over heels for her. Who wouldn’t? You’re pretty sure Barbara has caught on to your lovesick puppy act, thankfully leaving the topic alone in conversation. Instead, you get knowing glances from the older woman anytime she catches you and Melissa giggling like school children over a joke in the hallways, or when the redhead makes your coffee just how you like it in the mornings, leaving the steaming brew waiting in front of your seat for your arrival.  

You mull her proposition over, staring into your cooling mug of coffee that sits between your hands on the table. She leans back in her chair, arms folded, and eyebrow raised again as she stares you down. She knows she’s won.  

“Okay, why not?” You sigh, looking up again to meet her gaze. She grins and claps, the laugh lines around her eyes accentuating the wideness of her smile. If you had known agreeing would have made her this happy, there would have been absolutely no hesitation. Seeing her pearly white smile is the highlight of most days for you, the sight instantly improving any bad days you may have. This is no exception.  

In hindsight you probably should have discussed the details of your costume before blindly agreeing to Melissa’s proposal, but there’s no way you could ever turn her down. This idea doesn’t come to you until the morning of Halloween however, as you stand in the hallway outside your classroom trying to psych yourself up for a day pretending to be Melissa Schemmenti’s other half.  

“Mel, I look like an idiot,” you grumble. “How do you get to dress like that, and I’ve ended up looking like Elmo and Kermit the Frog had an illegitimate child?”  

“No no no, you look great, hun,” she reassures you. The way her lips are slightly pursed in a desperate bid to bite back the giggle that’s threatening to escape says otherwise.  

You, on the other hand, are less than impressed at her terrible poker face. Of all the times for her to lose her hard exterior, it had to be now. As much as you want to be mad at her for omitting the extremely-green-lycra part of your Vision to her Wanda costume, her visible excitement and rosy cheeks immediately put a stop to any negativity.  

“I’m serious,” she continues, “besides you don’t look anywhere near as bad as Janine right now. That girl is wearing whole-ass beard.”  

You raise your eyebrows as if to say ‘really?’, not quite believing her frantic excuses.  

“Don’t give me that look. It looks as if she’s rolled around on the floor of a barber shop.”  

You huff through your nose, arms crossing over your chest. You can’t help but look her up and down as she tries her best to reassure you that this look was the best decision for today. There’s no denying that she looks incredible in her Scarlet Witch getup, the tight outfit accentuating her irresistible curves and stunning figure. You don’t think you’ve ever seen her in such a form fitting piece and you really hope this isn’t the last time. You’re so obviously checking her out, but you hope your furrowed brow makes it look as though you’re just deep in frustrated thought.  

Meanwhile, you’re clad in bright green lycra and sickly yellow basketball shorts, all topped off with a matching cape and some alarmingly bright red face-paint. Your hair is tucked inside the hood of the outfit, and you desperately hope that this aids you in going unnoticed and unrecognised, though deep down you know that the assaulting colours will do little to disguise you and give you away as soon as the day begins. There is absolutely no hope of camouflaging in the full halls of Abbott when you look like a walking Crayola pack.  

As you begin to retreat into yourself, the annoyance quickly turning into embarrassment at the situation, Melissa reaches out to touch your arm that is still crossed over your torso.  

“Hey, I’m telling you we look incredible right now. I can guarantee you nobody else will have made this amount of effort with their costume,” you know she’s trying her best to reassure you but you’re past the point of no return. You’re one mean sunburn joke away from taking a dish sponge to your face and changing into something a lot less… weird.  

As you open your mouth to dismiss Melissa’s words, she silences you by reaching out her other hand to flatten the tie of your cape that sits around your neck. Her gloved hand feels impossibly warm through the fabric and you’re sure she’s moved closer to you, the toes of your bright white sneakers almost touching those of her crimson heels. She looks up through her eyelashes at you once she’s satisfied with her work, her hand staying in place and flattening against your sternum. This is the only time you’ll be glad for the paint slathered across your delicate features because you’re sure you’ve turned the exact same shade of red underneath.  

Melissa’s proximity to you is intoxicating. You can almost see every faint freckle that is covered by her makeup, her winged eyeliner impossibly sharp even this close. You’re trapped in this position, but you have no desire to move, desperately hoping she’ll push you back the few steps to trap you against the cold brick wall. You’re positive you’re imagining her eyes flickering from your own down to your scarlet lips, but the sight can’t help but make you imagine what she would look like with her own red lipstick smudged past the edges of her full, inviting lips.  

The clicking of heels against the tiled floor snaps you out of the moment and she jumps back, putting a good foot of space between you as you both try to recollect yourselves. Ava rounds the corner adorned in a flashy silver getup, her cape billowing behind her as she struts toward you. Her eyes squint when she sees the two of you and her mouth drops slightly as she realises just who is stood next to the Scarlet Witch.  

“Wandavision, wuh-wandavision,” she sings as she nears you. “Goddamn girl, you look less like Vision and more like ‘blind’”  

“Ava,” you groan over her cackle, “I can already feel my students ripping into me for the next 7 hours, i don’t need you getting involved as well.”  

“All I’m saying is you look like Mr. Clean had a bad accident with some ketchup,” another cackle follows as she carries on her way down the hallway, not even giving you chance to process the insult as the sound of her walking away grows faint. You turn slowly to Melissa, not wanting to see her expression of pity. When your eyes meet, all you can see is an impossible softness that rarely comes out in the redhead.  

“I genuinely think you look incredible right now, hun,” she says, her hand reaching out to touch your farm once again. Her thumb begins to rub where it lays, the friction burning an abnormal amount through the layers of fabric that separate your skin. You scoff at her statement, not quite believing that in her world the sunburnt equivalent of Howie Mandel is ‘incredible’. Before you can say a word, she continues. “Nobody has ever been willing to do this for me. You dropped everything to join in and I absolutely love you for it.” Her grin widens as she sees your walls visibly come down at her words, knowing she’s got under your skin and won yet again.  

You can’t help but lose yourself in her eyes at her confession, noticing the smile lines that surround them deepening with her increasing happiness. You would give anything to see those lines deepen like this every single day, especially if it means that you were the cause of it and her good mood.  

A gasp from behind you pulls you away from losing yourself too deeply, both of you snapping your heads to look at the interruption. In front of you stands none other than Barabara Howard dressed as... a bumble bee? Almost as if sensing your confusion at the letters attached to her torso, she jumps in with, “I’m a spelling bee, before you can ask,” you raise your eyebrows and let out a small 'ohhh' before she continues. “And I have no need to ask who you two are, you little marvel cuties! You both look absolutely incredible!” 

You don’t miss the way that Melissa squeezes your arm slightly from where it still sits, resting against your bicep, saying a silent ‘I told you so’.  

“You have to let me take a picture of you so I can show Gerald before the students get here,” she pleads. You’re about to decline the request until you look down to where Melissa stands next to you, only to see her grin impossibly wider than before, practically bouncing with excitement. The sight makes your heart melt in your chest and demolishes any notion of hesitance you had about this costume. Her happiness and enthusiasm are reason enough for all this to be worth it, even if your face will be stained by the bright red makeup for days to come.  

“Alright then, let’s do this,” you sigh, moving away slightly to get into position while Barb pulls her phone out of her own costume, lifting it up to prepare for the barrage of images she is about to assault you with.  

You both stand facing the camera, Melissa with her hands reaching out, almost as if she’s casting a spell. You take the opposite  approach, widening your stance and placing your hands on your hips. Your head is lifted, standing tall and proud to the side of the redhead as you both pose.  

You hear the camera shutter closing each time Barb jabs at her screen with her forefinger, Melissa changing poses slightly with every noise. You can’t help but grin yourself as you look down at her, her excitement for the holiday no doubt going above and beyond that of the literal children you teach.  

Her head turns toward you as the photoshoot continues, catching your loving gaze toward her. She softens her own gaze and smiles back at you as the shutter goes off one last time and you hear a “alright, I think that should be enough pictures” from the eldest woman of your group. The statement causes you to tear your eyes away from Melissa’s and clear your throat, the both of you forgetting the company you had for a brief moment.  

“Uh, yeah, I think so too,” you stutter, caught off guard by the way the irresistible redhead matched your captivated expression. “I think I’m gonna shoot off to get ready for the day – that classroom won’t tidy itself.” Your eyes flit between the two older women as you speak, both of them nodding along and agreeing to do the same with the last few free minutes of the morning before madness inevitably ensues.  

“I’ll see you at recess later hun,’ Mel calls as you turn and wave, making your way down the hallway toward your classroom. “Have a great day!” You can’t help but grin again, feeling as though it hasn’t fallen off your face for the last ten minutes that you’ve spent in the redhead’s company. Your step undeniably has a little more pep than it did earlier, that’s for sure.