#Only the most recently read

[lunarharp]

What led to this (orufrey comic, cw an uncomfortable/creepy scene)

[batbabydamian]

Hey, I started reading Robin son of Batman because of your recommendation (I literally have a print of your post on my phone to not forget lol). Honestly? One of the best things I ever read!!!

Thank you for opening my eyes! Damian has been one of my favorite characters for over a year, but I didn't read/watch much of him because of school, life (and probably an executive dysfunction in the mix).

Maya is incredible. I loved her.

I haven't finished all the issues yet, but do you have any other recommendations?

WAH this makes me so happy, i'm glad you still gave it a shot even with how busy life is!! ;v;

i’d love to give reccs, and i’ll try to go a beginner friendly route! tbh you can pick up whatever here, but since you've read R:SOB i’d immediately follow up with Batman and Robin (2011) #1-8! this first arc is what’s referred to in Maya’s introduction, and it's just. so good.

Main Books

Batman and Robin (2009)

Dick as Batman with Damian as his Robin!

#20-22 Tree of Blood: Dark Knight vs White Knight arc is done by Tomasi and Gleason, the team for the next Batman and Robin series

*Batman and Robin (2011)

Bruce and Damian figuring out their relationship as both Batman & Robin and father & son

imo you can enjoy the ride and read straight through this but i’ll add context to avoid as much confusion as possible since there’s the occasional tie-in or offscreen events, like Damian’s death nbd

Batman Incorporated (2012) #1-10

events leading to Damian's death - affects Batman and Robin (2011) from issue #18

kind of a tough read especially with how Talia's written, but a lot of iconic bits like Batcow, Damian's vegetarian declaration, Alfred the cat, "We Were the Best, Richard."

Robin (2021)

another self-discovery adventure, particularly after Alfred’s death and a fallout with Bruce (and questionable writing choices from his last Teen Titans run)

Batman and Robin (2023)

currently ongoing! after a number of events, Bruce and Damian are back as a duo

Damian Dynamics!

Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) #7, 10-12

arc where Damian meets one of his first Gotham friends, Colin Wilkes

Batgirl (2009) #5-7, #17

Steph and Damian dynamic! "the bad cop, worse cop" dysfunctional duo

Red Robin (2009) #13-14

early Tim and Damian dynamic that of course includes fighting haha. funny enough, accidentally my first intro to Damian LOL

Teen Titans (2003) #89-92

Dick!Batman has Damian join the Teen Titans. Start of Damian and Rose Wilson dynamic that’s extended in Robin (2021)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Damian meets Cass and has a brief team up

Gotham Academy (2015) #7

Damian meets Maps Mizoguchi! they have a few other meetings, but outside of that the series itself is a great read!

Robin War Event (2015)

Robin War (2015) #1, Grayson (2014) #15, Detective Comics (2011) #47, We Are Robin (2015) #7, Robin: Son of Batman (2015) #7, Robin War (2015) #2

Duke and Damian dynamic! not exactly beginner friendly but these are the main issues in order for the event! you can also read the TPB version for everything including Tie-Ins

Nightwing (2016) #16-20, #42, #43

#16-20 Nightwing and Robin arc!

#42 Dick on a mission to save Damian! the one appearance of "Wiggles" the dragon

#43 Dick, Roy, and Damian team-up

New Talent Showcase 2018 "Catwoman: Pedigree"

Selina, Damian, and Alfred the cat

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Robin vs. Ra's Al Ghul (2018)

Selina, Damian, and Cheese Viking - Damian's fav game shown in Nightwing: Rebirth (2016)

Monkey Prince (2022) #1-4

Marcus Sun Shugel-Shen's main comic, but Damian features as a fun dynamic here before they're in more serious circumstances in Batman VS Robin (2022)/Lazarus Planet event

Superman (2016) #10 - 11

the beginning of the Super Sons! featuring Maya!

Super Sons (2017)

solitary arcs but there’s a few event tie-in issues later

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018)

literally more Super Sons adventures lol galactic shenanigans yeehaw

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 

Super Sons time shenanigans feat. the Justice League

Robin 80th Anniversary (2020)

"Boy Wonders" - brief Damian feature as Tim considers his next step in life

"My Best Friend" - Jon's thoughts on Damian and their dynamic

"Bat and Mouse" - refers to Damian's unfortunate Teen Titans (2016) run at the time of release which follows up with Teen Titans Annual #2 where Damian briefly gives up Robin

Extra Comics!

Superman/Batman (2003) #77

Kara and Damian in a Halloween team-up! also the appearance of "Li'l Matches" lol

DCU Halloween Special '09 "Cavity Search"

Damian out on a solo mission for Halloween night. Immediately after is Tim's Red Robin story "Then and Now: Our Father's Sins" which is more somber in contrast but also a good read!

DCU Halloween Special 2010 "Robin the Vampire Slayer"

a Dick!Batman and Robin story featuring the vampire Andrew Bennett

Cursed Comics Cavalcade (2018) "The Devil You Know"

Halloween themed comic with a sweet short story of Damian alongside Solomon Grundy

DC's Terrors Through Time (2022)

"Trick or Treat" a Super Sons Halloween story

"The Haunting of Wayne Manor" Damian and Deadman story - in the end, Boston kinda refers to Nezha's possession of Damian in Batman VS Robin (2022) which was happening at the time of this release

Batman: Li'l Gotham (2013)

lighthearted series that instantly makes me smile with the silliness and Dustin Nguyen’s art i love this dearly

Secret Origins (2014) #4 "A Boy's Life"

a retelling of Damian's origin story

Detective Comics (2016) #1001-1005

Batman and Robin vs the Arkham Knight (unrelated to the game)

Truth & Justice (2021) #6/#16 - 18 Digital First version

cute story of Damian’s birthday! Juni Ba’s art is so fun!!

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) “Special Delivery”

short story about Damian! and poisoned pizzas. completely forgot the artist Sami Basri drew Rebirth Damian here before catboy Damian lol Cass’s story “Sounds” is also cute! Marcus makes his first appearance in "The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes"

DC VS Vampires (2021)

Damian makes appearances throughout this elseworlds book, but the one-shot DC VS Vampires: Hunters (2022) is vampire Damian-centric!

Batman: Black and White (2021) #5

“Father & Son Outing” short story written and drawn by Jorge Jimenez!

Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #20-23

#20 “My Son” Talia and Bruce focus

#20 - 23 “The Murder Club” 4 Parts

Tiny Titans (2008) #33, #39, #45, #47

a few appearances but SO CUTE, LOOK AT HIM

*Batman and Robin (2011) reading guide

i'm mostly trying to avoid the "what did i just walk in on?" kinda feeling when i first started reading comics LOL i'll list the comics where events take place, but you don't necessarily have to read them to go through this book since things are usually explained as quickly as possible in the first page or so

#0 Someday Never Comes

Talia and baby Damian before he grows up to meet Bruce

#1-8 Born to Kill

just an incredibly solid arc for Bruce and Damian!

#9 Court of Owls Tie-In Issue

Damian VS a Court of Owls Talon. While Bruce is occupied with a home invasion of Talons, Alfred makes a call for allies to protect targeted Gotham public figures from Talons. During Batman (2011) #1-11

#10-12 Terminus

Damian challenges the previous Robins sans Steph

Batman Incorporated (2012) is occurring at this time where Talia has placed a bounty on Damian and there's small mentions of that

#13-14 Eclipsed/Devoured

mostly solitary arc! end of it leads into the Death of the Family event

#15-16 Death of the Family Tie-In Issues

Damian and Joker face-off... Alfred's been kidnapped by the Joker, and Damian goes looking for him. During Batman (2011) #13-17

#17 Life is but a Dream - Death of the Family Epilogue

a sort of subconscious check-in through the dreams of Damian, Alfred, and Bruce. Nightwing (2011) #17 features Damian encouraging Dick after Death of the Family events

#18 Undone "Requiem"

Bruce dealing with Damian's death from Batman Incorporated #8

other reactions to Damian's death: Dick in Nightwing (2011) #18, Tim in Teen Titans (2011) #18

#19-23 Denial, Rage, The Bargain, Despair, Acceptance

Bruce through the stages of grief with some batfam appearances in each. also introduces Carrie Kelley into continuity as Damian's acting tutor.

Batman (2011) #19-20 also addresses Bruce's loss

#23.1-23.4

these could be skipped - villain stories, also related to Forever Evil event.

#24-28 The Big Burn

optional Batman and Two-Face/Harvey Dent arc, #23.1 is part of this story!

Damian's resurrection and return

#29-32 The Hunt for Robin

Ras took Talia and Damian's bodies from their graves, and Bruce goes after him.

-> Robin Rises: Omega

continues events from #32. if you don't want to jump to this, basically, Glorious Godfrey and a bunch of parademons from Apokolips are here for a chaos shard which Ra's put in Damian's sarcophagus. at some point, Bruce gets a hold of the shard where he sees a vision that leads him to believe Damian can be resurrected. Godfrey ends up taking the shard, along with Damian's body since it was emitting the same energy.

#33-37 Robin Rises

Bruce hellbent on retrieving Damian from Apokolips and reviving him

-> Robin Rises: Alpha

necessary to read and continues events from #37! Damian's back with a bang lol

#38-40 Superpower

Damian adjusting to having superpowers and being alive again

Annual #1 2013 Batman Impossible

sweet (and funny) one-shot of Damian sending Bruce on a meaningful scavenger hunt around the world while Damian gets to be the cutest Batman for a bit

Annual #2 2014 Batman and Robin: Week One

one-shot takes place during Damian's absence. after Bruce and Alfred find a mystery gift left for Dick, Dick recounts a story he had told Damian from his Robin days.

Annual #3 2015 Moonshot

one-shot Batman and Robin adventure on the moon!

...and of course after Batman and Robin (2011), Damian's story continues in his first solo Robin: Son of Batman (2015)!

[oceanwithouthermoon]

ive come to realise that i dont actually hate kubokai, i just hate the way people write them

[kagoutiss]

green beetle black beetle

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

your favorite of my favorites: A Book Poll

okay, i have now officially seen Just Enough open tags to override my vampiric need to be explicitly invited into things, so! here are my (current) Five Favorite Books for y'all to vote on, in order of Publication Date (and incidentally the order in which i read them)

shout out to @e-b-reads and @beardedbookdragon for the recent open tags! i am inflicting this on paying this forward to @asexualbookbird and @alloreli (who i warned), and to @sixofravens-reads (who i did not).

[evilwickedme]

Sorry, Batman was just the other big Jewish superhero with lots of adaptations I knew. Have you seen enough adaptations to do The Thing? Or honestly, do Superman anyway; he fits thematically if not literally

I would LOVE to do a ranking of Clark Kents based on how Jewish they are thank you so much

Worst of the worst is Henry Cavill's Superman. This is Jesus. Fuck this Superman stop portraying him as an otherworldly savior he is of the people he is Clark Kent not just a monstrous twisted version of Kal El !!!! (Sidenote this is also the only role I have ever disliked Amy Adams in.) Jesus himself might have been Jewish way back when, but Jesus metaphors are not, in any way shape or form, Jewish. -2022 years of Christian persecution of Jews/10

As much as this hurts me, next up is Smallville's Clark Kent. Tom Welling does an excellent job in the role and is my personal favorite, but I do have to admit it's at least partially nostalgia. The show opens by putting him on a cross. He redeems himself throughout the show, however, embodying more and more of the comic's spirit as the time goes on, and by the end it becomes very clear that Clark Kent and Kal El are one and the same, and that that is what gives Superman his strength. Accepting your Jewish name ahem Kryptonian identity alongside your goyiche passing name ahem human identity over the course of ten years is very Jewish. 6/10 but it gets some nostalgia points lbr

Next up is Christopher Reeve, may his memory be a blessing. I have only seen two of his Superman movies, but they are such a joy to watch. He truly understood the spirit of the character, the kindness and selflessness and need to help others that stands at the center of who Clark Kent is. His passing at such a young age was a tragic loss in so many ways, the ways he embodied Superman included. 8/10

Finally we have the original comic Superman (i.e. pre52 and post Rebirth, fuck all that n52 nonsense). This Superman is, quite simply, Moses. It was a clear metaphor written into his character by Jewish creators simply trying to express their identities as Jewish immigrants in the late thirties, and so much of that identity has survived the test of time. They gave him a Hebrew name, for God's sake! If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: Superman is the embodiment of Jewish principles of goodness. Making the world a better place is an action, and what better place to see that than in Action Comics? 10/10, we owe so much to Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel.

[corpsentry]

just updated tumblr mobile for the first time in two years and mein gotte everything is so large. i am also now able to view polls for the first time in my life and it is stressing me out. i can only look at one thing at a time and there are now more than five

[randomnameless]

thinking about @fantasyinvader's recent Dimitri post -

I think one of the points I'm not really fond of with AM and Boarmitri's turn to Savior!Mitri is how Dee shifts his attention from the Means to the Ends.

And sure, we have to think about the bigger scope - criticise to prevent the "Ends" means putting an end to the "Means" - but what about the ones who were sacrificed, or the ones who are and written off as "means"?

Kleiman dude really believed he was doing the right thing by chopping Duscur people (or at least putting them under the bus for something he and his lord did).

Boarmitri reacts to the "slaughtering Duscur people" strongly, and would have killed him because hey, you were slaugthering people down (or are responsible for the persecution Duscur people suffered and are still going through).

Savior!Mitri? Will put his execution on hold, to consider what Kleiman dude meant by "doing the right thing".

But, regardless of why Kleiman Dude thought was "right" or for "justice", the thing is, he still organised the massacre of several people and wrongly framed innocents to hide their involvment, which led to their persecution/massacre.

"But Lambert was removing our rights and privileges" sure, what does this has anything to do with Dedue having lost his sister to senseless murder after being wrongfuly framed for regicide?

"Kleiman Dude really believed what he was doing was right" and ? Tell that to Felix's mom, what's going to happen? People do things for all kinds of reasons, so what?

-

Worst offender is, of course, Supreme Leader.

Boarmitri wants to cut her down to avenge the dead (and maybe stop the war?) but when Savior!Mitri finally hears her, uh, reasoning, he is resolved to kill her because that's her choice (uh) and it's their fate???

The fuck?

Sure he mentions putting an end to the war, but the entire "we have no other choice but to fight, because it's what she wants and that's the destiny we were born to", please no?

Hopefully the first sentence "end the war" exists, otherwise I'd really believe Dee makes this fight and final battle all about Supreme Leader (and blame fate because that's hresvelg grey for you) and completely ignores the people who are, uh, living in this Fodlan ravaged by war, the ones who died because of it or are still dying because that's what war does.

What about the ones who died? The ones who are dying (or are locked in a 5 stars resort doing zumba for 5 years) ? The ones who are turned in demonic beasts? The ones who are starving?

"We have no choice but to destroy each other... Such is the destiny we were born to."

who cares about casualties, let's agree to disagree about our Ends and blame fate instead.

:/

[simgerale]

me after attempting to get back into sims and realizing i had a lot more to do than play the game

[liriostigre]

btw here's my storygraph. let's follow each other 💐

[ywpd-translations]

Fic rec! (part 1)

Here are some of the fanfics I have bookmarked on my AO3! I have a few more, so I'll do a part 2 of this soon enough. All of these fics are amazing, so please go read them and show the author some love!

If you have fics to recommend please share them!!

Under read more because it got long~

Makishima/Toudou (TouMaki)

Yowamushi Pedal Three Sentence Fics by mikkimouse (Toudou/Makishima / Fluff / 1282 words /Teen and Up audience. It's a collection a lovely short stories!)

Hanging on the Line by Jaela (Toudou/Makishima / 2026 words / Fake relationship / general audiences)

five times they didn’t kiss and one time they did by Yellow (Makishima/Toudou / 4003 words / 5 times / general audiences)

Aoyagi/Kaburagi (AoKabu)

reminisce by foodandfandom (Aoyagi/Kaburagi / 1253 words / general audiences /Kabu has a crush but of course he's oblivious about it /beautiful beautiful fic, I love it with all my heart)

Imaizumi/Naruko (ImaNaru)

on the west mezzanine by monkeyingaround (Imaizumi/Naruko / 3743 words / Teen and up audience / literally one of my fave Imanaru ever!!)

your hands on my cheeks (your shoulder in my mouth) by monkeyingaround (Imaizumi/Naruko / 6115 words / Explicit / basically the nsfw version of the previous one! Just as amazing)

Your Eyes by Allen_Nara (Imaizumi/Naruko / 4018 words / fluff, kissing, touching / Mature)

Butterflies by LadyMarshmallow (Imaizumi/Naruko / 1326 words / fluff, mostly Imaizumi's thoughts / not rated)

Manami/Onoda (SanSaka)

I can still use it by sky_prince (Manami/Onoda / 3913 words / general audiences / so so beautiful, this author really has a way with words)

Kinjou/Arakita (KinAra)

ready to start by joestars for phantomdoodler (Arakita/Kinjou / 3047 words / Fluff / General audiences)

do you want to be with somebody like me? by joestars (Arakita/Kinjou /3082 words /domestic fluff, getting together / Mature / god i absolutely adore this!)

third time's the charm by kinjoy (Arakita/Kinjou / 2115 words /Fluff, first kiss / general audiences)

time to go home by softintelligence (Arakita/Kinjou / 4165 words / magical realism /teen and up audiences)

Danchiku/Kaburagi

Trial Run by GingerCinnamon (Danchiku/Kaburagi / 1749 words / love confessions / general audiences /absolutely adorable)

Urakubo/Niwazuma (NiwaUra)

a beginning colored blue by championhestu (Urakubo/Niwazuma / 1284 words / general audiences / literally my favourite thing ever basically the only fic about them I haven't written myself i own this author my eternal gratitude)

Ishigaki/Midosuji (IshiMido)

Dragonfly Circle by Anonymous (Ishigaki/Midosuji / 11808 words / Explicit / it's been so long since i've read this one but i remember i adored it)

A Night, Your Night by Anonymous (Ishigaki/Midosuji / 7356 words / love confessions, angst / mature)

Arakita/Makishima (MakiAra)

One Hell of a Declaration, Darling by hostilovi (Arakita/Makishima / 9834 words / pining, future fic / teen and up audiences)

Machimiya/Ibitani (IbiMiya)

It's really something by HapaxLegomenon (Machimiya/Ibitani / 1543 words / mutual pining, love confessions / teen and up audiences / a very old one i haven't read in a long while but i remember i loved it)

Onoda/Imaizumi/Naruko

and it's all in my head but– by risquetendencies (Onoda/imaizumi/Naruko / 11792 words / getting together, feeling realization / teen and up audiences / absolutely showstopping, perfect)

Applied Research by rascals (lordlings) (Onoda/imaizumi/Naruko / 17696 words / fluff, confessions / general audiences / again, showstopping)

Midosuji/Onoda (MidoSaka)

A Cast Shadow by Anonymous (Onoda/Midosuji / 55899 words / angst, slow burn, fluff / teen and up audiences / oh god this was so beautiful i need to reread it)

Manami/Teshima (ManaTe)

One More by Anonymous (Manami/Teshima / 45712 words / getting together, banter, flirting / Explicit / i love this fic more than i love myself okay? It's not finished but it doesn't matter it's still worth reading it, literally amazing)

Various Ships

The many meanings of rival by zephsomething (Makishima/Toudou, Imaizumi/Naruko, Onoda/Manami / 1594 words / general audiences)

[cuntylittlesalmon]

I came across one of your posts criticising Delilah Green, and the radfem-esque rhetoric of Ashley Herring Blake's works. I agree, I completely despised her works. But every time one of my friends or I spoke about it, we were criticised on bookstagram and book twt. I was curious to know your thoughts on these books, if you are okay with it.

i am aaaaaaalways down to talk shit about bad books! i’ve felt completely isolated in the larger sapphic bookish spheres because i hated AHB’s work, i’m glad to have found another one of us 🫶

this’ll be under a cut because it’ll be incredibly long, as every instance of me criticizing these books has been

DGDC - delilah green doesn’t care

APDF - astrid parker doesn’t fail

AHB - ashley herring blake

SO!

these books suck. lmao. i don't think they're particularly interesting on the character-level, or the world-level, or the prose-level, or really anything at all. there are scenes here and there where i can see what AHB can do but she's too busy trying to seem like the funniest and the most progressive white cis woman out there--of course, without doing any of the actual work that comes with deconstructing the racist, transphobic, and homophobic ideology she grew up with as a person from the united states.

which leads me into my first complaint: everything to do with emery and their pronouns. every single thing in that scene felt like pandering, and the pronoun sharing aspect felt like word salad that needed to be edited down to a single sentence of "And then everyone else shared their pronouns". we're already deeply aware that every single person in this book sans emery is cis, i don't need that shoved into my face further with a cis woman expounding upon how she's terrified that she's going to fuck up somehow in sharing her own pronouns. unnecessary bullshit, since i'm guessing the point was to show that astrid is insecure, particularly around industry professionals, but with a slightly funny slant to it. this was not the place to show that, especially when there are so many other instances both before and after this part that show her anxieties better.

and frankly, in sharing this part with a friend, they thought it was astrid being insecure about getting emery's pronouns correct which....if your cute lil romcom protag can be see as an annoying and borderline transphobic cissie when they come face to face with a nonbinary person for the first time because your prose just sucks ass......maybe you shouldn't include that lol

and i think that leans in a lot to the "humor" of these books. at one point in ADPF, delilah makes a joke about fighting someone "like a lesbian", which in her eyes (and somewhat therefore AHB's eyes) means gazing disapprovingly at someone and making her mouth "look like a butthole" (paraphrasing, but not the butthole part. she really says butthole). i'm assuming this was supposed to be funny, but it fell so fucking flat with me. like, these books are supposed to be romcoms. romantic fucking comedies. but most of the humor is so deeply steeped in white millennialisms that it's actually unfunny unless you're like my gen x mother who spends 90% of her time on facebook.

which, i suppose that's my biggest gripe with the books, and with AHB herself. it's a lot of self-serving nonsense, with little to no introspection about why certain things are included versus not. i mean, i can say that about a lot of popular romance novels, but thats beside the point. there is no reckoning with institutions, despite all of the call backs to how rich people suck, or how white people suck, or how men suck. it's all so very wink-wink-nudge-nudge, "im in the know, can't you tell?", correct terminology wrong ideology kinda of stuff. ok yeah, white people as the institution suck. i think we all know that. but also, ashley, every single important character, every single side character (save a couple), and every single background character (save a couple), are all white. you are actively participating in the "white is default" ideology that you seemingly dislike and make fun of in your book. so which is it?

this disconnect between AHB's story choices (all white main cast, etc) and the prose-level choices is so fucking obvious throughout the entire body of both books:

the lesbian main characters cannot call themselves lesbians, but one will call themself dyke without a second thought.

the trans-positive lesbian main characters will talk about dating/being attracted to nonbinary people, but do not have any nonbinary friends, do not talk to any nonbinary people, and the one nonbinary character included thus far speaks one (maybe twice) just to give their pronouns.

the lesbian main characters call themselves butch (or are called so by other wlw (but not lesbian) characters) and yet are still conventionally feminine in their presentations.

men are the worst people in the world, and yet josh (an ex of claire from DGDC) is consistently trying to atone for his past harm, and within the story we're given, is like, an actually alright guy.

men are the worst people in the world, and yet the worst actions taken against iris was not by her ex-boyfriend, but by her butch girlfriend (which. i have a lot of thoughts on this).

the books say they believe one thing, but are never backed up with actually evidence that this is the case.

and so, when i say the books have some radfem-y bullshit in them, this is largely what im talking about. i have no clue if AHB herself is a radfem, or exactly what she believes in. im not combing through her twitter account because she as a person annoys me, and anyone promoting her work annoys me. but she is participating in some fucked up shit, and the fact that they are so beloved just makes my ass itch and i feel like i need to speak on it more than i already do now 💀

anyway. the radfem-y stuff.

the books use some pretty covert gender essentialism when it comes to the lesbian characters vs the bisexual woman characters. every single lesbian is said to be masculine (specifically butch) while every single bisexual woman (and every single ostensibly straight woman) is, while not called out as feminine, exclusively present femininely. which....is weird. i don't think i have to say why saving masculinity for lesbians (and men) is stereotypical, and kind of gross, especially coming from someone who isn't a lesbian.

but wait! its worse! masculinity (regardless of how prescriptive vs. descriptive it is) in these books are very much associated with emotionally unavailability and callousness toward the feminine (emotional) counterpart. and really, its even worse when you compare difference within the lesbian characters (delilah, jordan, and iris' girlfriend).

delilah and jordan, when you actually examine them, are feminine presenting. they both wear red lipstick, eyeliner "sharp enough to kill a man", and in delilah's case, heels. the most masculine aspects about them is that they don't wear skirts or dresses. literally. whereas, iris's girlfriend in APDF, who only wears suits, has short cropped hair, never wears makeup, and has a stereotypically masculine job. jordan and delilah are love interests. they're allowed to grow into emotionally available people by their love for their feminine partners. the butch girlfriend, however, is a cheating piece of shit who's entire point is to set up iris' storyline for the third book in the series (a role that could've been done just as well by her ex boyfriend, who she dated in DGDC, instead of what feels like a very pointed and spiteful subplot).

so, it becomes very clear to me that masculinity is the worst thing you can have in these books. none of the men are given grace either, and i touched on it a bit earlier talking about josh. he was flaky as hell with claire and their daughter before the events of DGDC, and so claire (and by extension, her friends iris and astrid) are wary of him when he comes back into her and her daughter's lives. but, for all of that, josh isn't flaky in the book. like he very much steps up to be a good dad to his daughter. is the best? no, obviously. i dont think AHB is capable of writing a "good" character. but he literally doesn't abandon anyone, despite us being constantly told that thats what he does, to the point that when he ends up being unreachable for a couple of days, every single character freaks out and treats him like a monster. iris fucking punches him for this, even though he actually had a good reason. and im not one to defend men like 💀 i am very much a manhater, but like. cmon. it feels entirely unearned. and its that disconnect again. AHB wants you to believe that josh deserves this because he's a man, so of course he's going to be terrible, its what men do, despite him, like, not being terrible.

(and its even worse in APDF, where astrid is literally disgusted to be in his presence point blank, period, even though hes been like. consistently a decent guy.)

and my last piece in this, is natasha rojas. the otherworldly sexy and gorgeous latina host of the reality show in APDF, who literally wears a clitoris necklace. like not only is it leaning on racist stereotyping, but she's the ultimate feminine who wears a literal piece of the vagina. yonic imagery is cool and everything (genuinely, there should be more!) but this is not only extremely heavy handed in a brick-to-the-face kind of way, but also as the Ultimate Feminine, she's this deeply warm and caring and nurturing person, who is never posited as a antagonist or anything despite her positioning as a literal corporate player for HGTV (the hallmark of home renovation. every fucking person on that network is some flavor of conservative). she very much could've been a stand in for the capitalist homogenization of the housing market that HGTV absolutely caters toward, especially when you take into consideration astrid original plan for the house that she's renovating (taking it from very classically victorian to white and grey contemporary), but instead she's positioned as a mouthpiece for the glory of the clit and female sexuality only. which is fucking frustrating. and so fucking weird.

but yeah. AHB has a very white millennial liberal queer view of gender and presentation and sexuality, which in and of itself is very essentialist. but she tries to play out of her biases as a white and cis woman by making in-narrative jokes about it, but they fall completely flat because she has no idea what she's doing, and thus perpetuates the exact same shit she's trying to make fun of. she's got a lot of unchecked bigotry rattling around in that empty brain of hers, which when you're trying to write a feminist book, leans itself to radfem & white feminist ideology (which. lbr. are the fucking same but whatever).

ik this was long as hell but ty everyone who made it to the end for reading 😤🙏💓

[hivemindscape]

The waves continued to lap against the shore. Push and pull. Breathe in, breathe out.

“What triggered it?”

The question was quiet, and so out of the blue it took Wilbur a moment to realize Tommy had asked it.

“What do you mean?” Wilbur asked.

“Your panic attack,” Tommy clarified, his hair tickling Wilbur’s cheek again. “Was it random, or did something trigger it?”

"Your Name Is A Triangle" by @bonesandthebees​

song i drew this to alt version under the cut

[nonbinary-sticks-the-badger]

haaate how my two favourite ships (surgamy + espilver) typically involve the less popular character losing their edge and acting really out of character (but in an in character way?) because when i go through periods of not drawing/writing/whatever much when it comes to surge or espio as standalone characters (or at least outside the context of shipping) i get scared im gonna forget who they are and that theyre actually so cool

[eruverse]

People when I tell them that Ivan loves pussies too