#all my life i wanted to be a cartoonist

[therailz]

my comics are so funny dude, im laughing at the sketch for the next one. My art is mediocre as shit but Comickles itself is amazing idc

[thedreadvampy]

not to be a dick but if you've been through actual university level art school and you still think that it's unreasonable bullying to be asked to push yourself or experiment with different art styles or to have aspects of your artwork criticised by people you asked for an opinion. what was the point of art school for you exactly?

when people say shit like 'my art school tutors told me my art was bad bc it was too anime and cartoonish ☹️' that may be true but I'm not gonna lie what I suspect happen is they told you 'you should work on developing a solid foundation for any art style you choose by pushing yourself to try more representational art Anne getting comfortable with ways of seeing and understanding images' and what you heard is 'NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO DRAW CARTOONS EVER AND YOUR WORK IS WORTHLESS'

and furthermore I suspect that you were really annoying in crits and took any even slightly negative comment or suggestion as a personal attack even though literally the point of art school is to learn to take and grow from constructive advice from your peers.

shout out to the girl on my undergrad who burst into tears literally every crit for three years even though about the nastiest thing anyone said to her was 'it might look cleaner if you rubbed out any of your pencil lines after inking and also used a clean rubber while sketching.' and guess whose art didn't improve at all over three years and whose technique actively got sloppier while other people were moving forward in leaps and bounds? yeah.

there were people who started uni as the best in the class and ended as some of the worst bc they just weren't prepared to listen to criticism or change how they did anything. and there were people who started out very mediocre and went on to produce incredible professional work to a high standard bc they listened and were open to change. and that's got nothing to do with who was more painterly and who was more cartoony or whatever it's just. when you ask advice and get something you don't want to hear do you chew on it and try it out or do you dig your heels in and do more of the same?

and like I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sticking to your guns and doing art the way you want to do art and the way that brings you joy. I'm just saying if you don't want feedback, teaching or advice on how to improve I'm really not sure what the benefit of art school is that you couldn't get several thousand pounds cheaper by staying home and drawing there.

(and I'm also saying if you come out of art school like BOOHOO NOBODY LIKES MY STYLE AND MY ART IS WORTHLESS you might. need to pull yourself together and say either I'm committed to this style regardless of whether people like it and I'm going to keep building on this style and make it amazing, or I want to make art that's more like the work people like and I value, what could I change to get more where I want to go? but if you lie down and say waaaaaah it's so unfair that my art is bad and everyone else is just more talented than me then bullshit. by the time you've graduated art school talent is not the deciding factor in the quality of your work. it's a question of your willingness and capacity to put the work in, take criticism, understand what you want to achieve, and slog through trying and failing to get a certain effect until it improves. professional level art is not an innate talent it's a trained skill, and some people might start further along the path than others bc of their talent, eye or training, but the distance between someone who's talented but unpractised and someone who's less talented but puts a lot of thought and work in closes extremely rapidly. it can be disheartening but if you want to do this professionally rather than for yourself you gotta feel your frustration, have a good scream and cry about it, then get back in to figuring out what you need to build on. bc we're all guilty of sometimes going HOWEVER HARD I WORK I'LL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS MY PEERS but no offence if you just lie down and give up where does that get you? if you just start going 'actually you should all feel bad for not liking my work more' instead of making your work more appealing or finding the right audience for it, that's on you not on anyone else. what was the point of art school????)

[iknowwhereyousleepatnight]

mikami!! again!

[qumiiiquinnquin]

maybe ill go into meteorology and become a meteorologist like my family keeps joking about but is gradually becoming more serious about

[planefood]

something I don't see talked about a lot in objectum spaces but people have agreed with me when I've brought it up is how difficult it is to draw objects in a way that feels true to its beauty and essence. At least without doing a 1:1 replication of an image. But I don't like doing art that way. My objectum artwork is a constant battle between trying to make art that's creative and enjoyable to me while keeping the same energy of the object I'm portraying in the piece. I've gotten some (mean) criticism in the past for putting my anthropomorphic object drawings in the objectum tag but that's just the easiest way I can convey how an object makes me feel in artwork. It's hard to portray how much an object feels like its bursting with life and personality to me by just drawing the object as it is, as gorgeous as I might find the object in particular. Not because I don't find objects beautiful on their own I just really want to really show how the object makes me feel in the art I make. I consider myself a cartoonist first and foremost.

I will admit though, sometimes adding too much character to an object can make it lose its "objectness" and when it comes to a sexuality surronding objects that's, kinda important... For example a plane looks quite a lot different once you add a face to it:

(and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the regular plane 100x more appealing than the disney one, despite there being relatively minimal changes)

At the same time though, I could happily draw regular planes, computers, cars and whatever all day with zero added features. I love them after all. But me and a lot of other people can really connect to an object seeing it portrayed more anthropomorphised. I've had a lot of people come to me saying that specific brand of my objectum art introduced them to object sexuality because it showed objects in a different light than say, a still life could to an uninformed observer.

Either way that being said, I put a lot of thought into making my object art appealing to objectum people as an objectum person myself, it's not going to be to everyone's taste because I'm not them. But I hope one day I can really find that perfect balance for myself of object and anthropomorhisation that doesn't take away from the regular object itself.

[newlevant]

I co-edited a new anthology!!

Becoming Who We Are is a kid-friendly collection of real stories about growing up, based on interviews with cool trans people from many walks of life, drawn by trans cartoonists!

We designed this book with middle-grade readers in mind, because my co-editor is a parent and wanted this book to exist for her own kids. The idea is to give all readers a chance to know and relate to trans people.

Preorder / back the kickstarter now! The book is available as a PDF, softcover, or a kickstarter-exclusive hardcover.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tylerchintanner/becoming-who-we-are-real-stories-about-growing-up-trans?ref=section-homepage-view-more-recommendations-p1

[funshape]

haii. hellowwwwe introducing Meee :3

🔴 im kaz!

🔸19 (bday on april 1st!!!!)

🟡 he/him, dont refer to me by they/them please. also im an aro gay guy lawl

❇️ hispanic + latino 🇵🇷

🌀 im an artist and cartoonist! im a full time art student and i am very passionate about character design and illustration. im also developing a comic, and im very passionate about storytelling!

🟣 i have several mental disorders and dont do very well with social interaction, please forgive me if im not very talkative or communicative @_@

💖 my i have a lot of interests but the main ones are my ocs, flightless birds, reptiles, various design aesthetics of the 80s-90s like factory pomo and global village coffeehouse, theme park history, venture bros, metalocalypse, horror media, cartoons from the 2000's, and music like new wave, prog rock and funk metal (i loveee mr bungle, ween and primus dont even get me started). i love music a lot so if you have any recommendations feel free to send them over to me ^_^

please dont follow me if youre under 15, also if you're a pr0shipper/'anti-anti' or a t3rf or a zi0nist or anything similar (censoring because tumblr is annoying) Get Off My Page Forever

though i do get jokey and less serious here sometimes, i also want to make it known that i will always try to use my platform to boost the voices of people who are suffering at the hands of injustice and oppression. im very fortunate to live the life that I do and making my followers aware of issues that arent as widely reported on is very important to me. if youre one of those people who only likes it when people on here goof off all the time and you 'get annoyed' when people actually try to raise awareness about serious issues, then youre not someone i want to be associated with frankly

i ask that you refrain from acting too overly familiar with me like referring to me as your friend when we've never really talked, stuff like that. im really sensitive to stuff like that and seeing people act like that towards me just kinda icks me out. please respect me and my boundaries

thats about it i think! uhh yeah. my other socials are belowwww if you wanna go follow me on those places! have a nice one ok bye

twitter / youtube / toyhouse / art blog / kofi / insta (not super active there, i just use it to talk to my friends jsyk

also if you wanna get in touch with me the easiest way is to dm me on discord! my username over there is papaplasmic. i tend not to use the dm features on other apps including tumblr so if you wanna talk with me thats the easiest way as im always on there. just know that sometimes i wont respond to stuff just because talking with people i dont really know isnt something im up for all the time :P but ill try to respond if i can

[mayflowers515]

(Wholesome Cartoon AU) Smiling Critters' Families

Wanted to make this to go more into depth with the Critters' families and their thoughts on them. I mentioned some aspects about some families already in my lore headcanons, but here the information relating to them will be more organized and may have some extra details not brought up before.

Note: For the purposes of cartoon logic, real-life lifespans of animals won't apply here when it comes to the parents (since their ages are definitely beyond what ages they typically live by-)

I also have headcanons for all the families, and I will update this if I think up more for them :)

🧡☀️DogDay☀️🧡

Members:

NoonHound - father; 32 years old

Bio: Works as a cartoonist and is very passionate and easygoing.

DandieDawn - mother; 31 years old

Bio: Works as a daycare teacher; she is very caring but a bit of a worrywart.

DogDay - older brother; 11 years old

SunnySpot - younger sister; 6 years old

Bio: Filled with endless curiosity and bubbly charm, but can be a smart allec sometimes.

DogDay loves his parents a lot and respects all of what they do for him and his sister. He only wishes they could all spend more time all together. That doesn't happen too often due to his mother and father working busy jobs. As for DogDay's relationship with Sunny, he cares a lot about her, too. Sometimes, he can get a bit too overprotective of her in cases where it may not be needed. Even then, he likes to play games with her whenever she asks about it. She's very playful after all.

DogDay's parents, Noon and Dawn, work a lot to care for him and Sunny. They used to all live in a more drab town where the job quality wasn't the best. They stayed there to improve their financial situation until finally they could move to a better town to work better jobs. Though they can still be busy at times, the parents now have much more initiative to take a break compared to before. As for Sunny, she really looks up to and admires her brother. Though she gets annoyed whenever he overly coddles her, and she occasionally plays smart with him.

Headcanons:

Sunny has learned how to solve a Rubik's cube at a young age. In general she is good with completing brain puzzles, but solving a Rubik's cube is her favorite one.

Dawn's experiences as a teacher is part of the reason for being a worrywart. Due to the way the kids at daycare act, she tends to have this persona of her slip whenever she tends to DogDay and Sunny. She is often out of work very exhausted and tense, but she still loves her job.

As a kid, Noon drew cartoons as he has always wanted to be a cartoonist. However, he doesn't really like looking back at them since he views them as "cringy". If his kids were to see the comics he created, he would laugh at them as a way of acknowledging how "cringy" his previous work was, even if this may not have been the case.

Dawn and Noon have known each other for a long time, as they were next-door neighbors in their childhood town (not the same as the drab town I described, though). They were childhood friends for a long time, but Noon had harbored feelings for Dawn for a long time even before they got together. By the time their high school's prom came around, he confessed his feelings for her, which she reciprocated (turns out she felt the same way Noon did, but he was oblivious to this thinking she was just being shy originally).

Dawn's hobby whenever she isn't working is landscape work. This ranges from gardening to decorating. She gets really into it, too, often taking a long time to finish her landscaping work to fit a certain occasion (especially the case when holidays roll around). Noon likes to help with decorations sometimes because of his own passions relating to drawing.

DogDay's appreciation of his father's drawings is also what makes him so interested of other people's art, even though he himself isn't as artistic of a person.

🩷🍎PickyPiggy🍎🩷

(I'm changing my mind about the status of Picky's parents. They never disappeared now- I didn't like the original idea I had for them looking back at it; may put what I planned for them previously in another timeline though, but I'm not sure atm)

Members:

PerfectPiggy - father; 36 years old

Bio: The main cook of the family's kitchen; has good leadership skills and charisma.

PetitePiggy - mother; 34 years old

Bio: The co-cook and gardener of the family's kitchen; not afraid to get messy and is hard-working.

PickyPiggy - older sister; 10 years old

PerkyPiggy - younger twin sister; middle; 7 years old

Bio: Takes a lot after her mother and loves outdoor activity. She and her twin brother commonly bicker.

PowerPiggy - younger twin brother; middle; 7 years old

Bio: Though very reserved, he is stubborn and goal-oriented. He and his twin sister commonly bicker.

PlayPiggy - baby brother; youngest; 6 months old

Bio: A very happy infant who loves to play games.

Picky has a lot of respect for her parents. They were the reason she has such a passion in gardening and especially cooking. As a result, Picky is a bit closer with Perfect than Petite, but she is always enthusiastic at both learning new recipes and growing new crops. She has learned a lot about responsibility and discipline from them that reflects in the piggy she is. Picky has a motherly attitude towards her siblings. Whenever her parents can't take care of them due to being busy, Picky usually volunteers to help. She is a peacemaker to her siblings if Perky and Power get into fights or whenever Play starts to get upset. She also caters a lot to their basic needs. She doesn't deny any of them for any reason, though she can sometimes act slightly mean and sarcastic towards them depending on her mood. She usually apologizes when she goes too far with this attitude, however.

Picky's parents love all of their children equally. In the case of Picky, they are especially happy that she takes interest in their work. They secretly want Picky to help run the business with them when she's older, and potentially even inherit it if and when they retire. As for Picky's siblings, they have a lot of respect for their older sister. Especially because of what she does to make sure they get taken care of whenever their parents can't help for whatever reason. Perky and Power usually have Picky play with them when she can because she can also let loose and play with them just like any sister can. Though not much is known with how Play feels about Picky due to being so young, he appreciates her company just as much as everyone else's. He especially loves the games she plays with him.

Headcanons:

Before their start as a local restaurant business, the Piggies took their food service slow. They helped out in any food drives and potlucks they came across. Their favorite place to help out is in homeless shelters and orphanages. Picky especially likes to help out in the orphanage (I imagine this is how she and Bobby met all that time ago).

Both Perfect and Petite were into cooking, and they naturally took interest in each other when realizing during high school that they both planned to go to culinary school. During their time in culinary school, they fell in love and eventually became a couple.

Perky and Power aren't into cooking as much as their older sister or their parents, but they still occasionally help out in the kitchen, especially if it involves their favorite food. They can't help out in the same room, however, since they bicker even in the kitchen.

Perky is VERY messy whenever she helps out in the kitchen. She often has flour and ingredients all over her clothes after helping out. This would annoy Power, who is much less messy in the kitchen.

Whenever Power is in the kitchen, he is very by the book. He does a good job keeping track with the details explained in the cookbooks, but he will question whenever something goes against what he expects would happen.

Perfect sometimes cooks the food he makes for the restaurant business as a surprise for the family. To save money, they usually eat store bought food whenever those surprise days don't happen.

Petite probably has a lot of injuries due to what she has to work with in her garden. She especially hates wasps since they sting her a lot whenever she tends to the garden.

🩵🌈CraftyCorn🌈🩵

Members:

King SpeQuine - father; 41 years old

Bio: A very demanding presence in the kingdom and always strives to receive the best in everything.

Queen PrisMare - mother; 38 years old

Bio: Known to be emotionally distant and no-nonsense. She cares a lot about keeping the kingdom afloat.

(Princess) CraftyCorn - daughter; 11 years old

Crafty's relationship with her parents is... complicated to say the least. While she doesn't hate either of them, she doesn't exactly respect them either. They always talked down to her for interests that didn't relate to royalty and they also talked badly about anybody that didn't share their status, and Crafty disliked that. Despite this, Crafty always tried to please her parents so she could feel accepted by them. She was often talked down to for not fulfilling their expectations. Eventually, Crafty had enough of this and ran away in the middle of the night. She was accompanied by a knight who took pity in her situation. She doesn't like talking about her parents ever since she ran away from them. This is also the reason why she's so sensitive on the topic of her upbringing.

Crafty's parents didn't really love their daughter as a daughter. Rather as someone that could help them with the kingdom's reputation. They always nitpicked her for not fulfilling the visions they wanted for her to be. SpeQuine would especially be more nitpicky with his daughter. PrisMare is the same, but she has a sense of coldness whenever she does the same thing. Mainly because she doesn't know how to show love in the traditional sense, since she was always so focused on her kingdom and her kingdom only. These attitudes caused Crafty to run away. Not much is known about the parents' reaction to Crafty besides the fact they are desperately trying to search for her, unaware of her current location.

Headcanons:

Queen PrisMare actually used to be a big artist as a young girl, but she was bashed for these interests in a similar manner that Crafty was. PrisMare herself doesn't realize her own hypocrisy because there was a point in her life where her family would convince her that art was nothing but a waste of time. She commonly uses those experiences to convince Crafty to do what she and SpeQuine want her to do. Even so, I feel deep down, she would've secretly been proud of Crafty and her artwork, but doesn't show it so she can be a "good example" of "proper royalty".

King SpeQuine grew up in a rich family that spoiled him rotten before getting married to PrisMare. He was always taught that he always deserved the best of the best at all times, even if that realistically couldn't always happen. Due to the way he was raised, if he wasn't getting into a relationship with PrisMare, he would've stayed with his parents and never got a chance to work. His parents didn't care about the severity of running a kingdom at the time. They only cared that their son got with a royal because of the reputation it gives them.

Though they aren't seen or heard of much in the events of the cartoon, there are implications that the finding of their daughter is getting more widespread. These implications would grow more and more as the cartoon goes on (probably during a point where Crafty is going through an arc).

The natures of both PrisMare and SpeQuine also caused them to clash and not have as healthy of a relationship with each other either. They hid this from Crafty as much as they could to set a good example for her.

The only reason the parents got together at all is because PrisMare was pressured by her family to find someone to marry for their kingdom and SpeQuine's parents wanted him to marry a rich lady to upgrade their own status. Both PrisMare and SpeQuine seldom treat each other like married couples typically do. They may have a slight hint of care for each other, but this never extends to true love.

💛⭐KickinChicken⭐💛

Members:

CooperRooster - father; 40 years old

Bio: A social butterfly who likes to live in the moment. Can get too over his head at times, though.

WendyHen - mother; 39 years old

Bio: A sweet but self-conscious hen who wants the best for her family.

StrikinChicken - older brother; 17 years old

Bio: He is generally chill and agreeable. He likes to tease Kickin a lot, but he also likes helping him.

KickinChicken - younger brother; 10 years old

Kickin doesn't show it around others, but he is very clingy to his parents. He is especially clingy towards Cooper since he often spoiled him and his brother ever since they were young. Despite not being as close with Wendy, he still appreciates her a lot and usually tries to help her when she has her episodes of self-doubt. As much as Kickin looks up to both of his parents, however, it doesn't compare to the amount of admiration he has for his brother, Strikin. They have always been really close, and Kickin wants to be as cool as his brother. He worries whenever he feels he can't reach Strikin's level of cool, but Strikin usually reassures him whenever he feels this way.

Kickin's parents care a lot about their son, but they deep down worry a lot about him. He was picked on a lot at a previous school he was at, and they feel Kickin gets a lot of his own hidden self-consciousness from those experiences. As a result, they reassure Kickin that he will always be a star to them. Strikin also feels this way, but he is very close to Kickin. He checks up on him a lot, and he feels bad whenever he feels he couldn't do much to help him with his doubts, even when Kickin is just happy Strikin was there for him at all. Deep down, Strikin worries about how Kickin will feel once he leaves for college...

Headcanons:

Strikin plans to major in engineering once he graduates high school and goes to college.

Cooper used to be in a garage band when he was younger. He still has a rock guitar reminding him of those times. He hopes one of his sons pick up on his skills sometime.

Wendy likes to scrapbook in her free time. She may also have some embarrassing photos of her sons when they were really young. Strikin doesn't really mind, but Kickin would absolutely get embarrassed if his mom ever showed anyone those photos-

Wendy and Cooper had BIG crushes on each other during high school, but neither one of them knew about it.

When they did get together, I imagine it happened in a really funny, coincidental fashion. Like, when they were teens, they took part in a spin-the-bottle game, and Cooper just so happened to land on Wendy, which she was TERRIFIED about at first because she thought she would be way out of Cooper's league yet he still pursued her. They hit it off ever since that night-

Though I wouldn't be able to straight out say it in the AU (since I hc the cartoon was created in the early 90s where rep wasn't exactly normalized yet), it is very much implied that Strikin is gay. Probably what made Kickin himself feel more comfortable about realizing he was bisexual (this would also be implied).

Strikin has a BIG comic book collection with comics he doesn't even read anymore. He plans to give those comics to Kickin once he moves out to college (he doesn't give it to him sooner because he wants to surprise him).

💙💡Bubba Bubbaphant💡💙

Members:

(Ben) Benvolio Bubbaphant - father; 42 years old

Bio: An outgoing, fun-loving elephant who likes seeing the bright side of things.

Bridget Bubbaphant - mother; 43 years old

Bio: A kind, calm elephant who usually likes to reminisce on the past.

Bubba Bubbaphant - son; 11 years old

Bubba cares deeply about his parents, but he hasn't always been so trusting of them. For some time (prior to the series), he thought the relationship he had with his parents was "off", as if they couldn't be his real parents due to how different they are from him (size, color, etc). Eventually he realized the reason why, and he has become much closer to them ever since. He always appreciates how much they support his academic interests, and they always strive for him to achieve the best he can. Bubba likes Benvolio's energy, but he sometimes gets annoyed when he doesn't take certain things seriously. As for Bridget, Bubba admires how calm and wise she is. They also like to reminisce on old memories together.

Bubba's parents care a lot about their son. They originally were concerned for him because he would barely open up to them at a certain point in time. Once they realized why, they took extra time in making sure they valued their son for being himself and that they would always care for him. Benvolio has always made sure to do what he could to cheer up his son whenever he felt hard on himself. Meanwhile, Bridget usually helps Bubba whenever he wants insight on certain decisions he's about to make (he wants to make sure he's doing the right thing).

Headcanons:

The reason Bubba distrusted his parents so much in the past was because of how different their genetics seemed to be. He accidentally slips up on this distrust one time when he had an argument with them. Benvolio and Bridget open up about why this is the case. It turns out they are still his real parents despite how different they seemed. Just their genetics made him turn out to not be as similar to them. This discovery was part of the reason as to why Bubba has become much more inclined to learning new things nowadays. Afterwards, he starts to trust his parents more.

This misunderstanding led to Bubba's own fear of his lack of knowledge on certain things. Benvolio and Bridget are aware of this, and always let him know that there's still a lot for him to learn and that it's normal to not know EVERYTHING. Though this doesn't personally help Bubba very much, he would appreciate the support anyway.

Benvolio was NOT good at school back in the day. However, he would barely ever get any help due to the discrimination on him being so small for an elephant. This is eventually how he met Bridget, who was the only one who would help tutor him (she also had similar problems being rejected for her differences). Though they did clash sometimes, they eventually became high school sweethearts.

Bridget had a lot of achievements for her work in school back in the day, but this wasn't capitalized on as much during the time due to the discrimination following her. They have been given much more recognition as she grew older whenever anyone found out due to their world becoming more accepting of these differences.

The Bubbaphants loved to play board games together. They don't get TOO chaotic, as to them it's all just harmless fun to them. Sometimes, Benvolio likes to be silly about the way he plays and is usually the most dramatic whenever they play.

❤️❤️Bobby BearHug❤️❤️

Members:

Beckett BearHug - adoptive father; 34 years old

Bio: A tough-looking bear who has a bleeding heart on the inside. He has fighting experience.

Barbara BearHug - adoptive mother; 33 years old

Bio: Looks snobby, but she is actually very empathetic and gentle. She is known to have a rbf.

Bobby BearHug - daughter/adopted daughter; 9 years old

Bobby loves her parents a lot. She doesn't see them for their outward flaws, but rather as the parents she wished she was born with a long time ago. The truth is, these aren't her real parents. They adopted her after she was dropped by her real parents who neglected her. Due to her previous experience with those parents, Bobby gets really scared and apologetic if she feels she is being too much with Barbara and Beckett or if she isn't good enough for them. They always give her reassurance that they love her no matter what. Bobby sees them as her real parents because of the love they've given her that she needed all along.

Barbara and Beckett care a lot about their daughter. They always wanted to have a child of their own, but they were unable to for some time. They were glad to have the opportunity to raise Bobby after realizing her situation. As a result of realizing what she went through previously, they take extra care in being as kind and reassuring to her as possible. This is so she can know that they won't leave her or neglect her like her previous parents did. They love Bobby unconditionally as if she was their biological daughter.

Headcanons:

Bobby's biological parents are Homer HoneyComb and Cara HoneyComb. They had Bobby at a young age and at the time, they weren't at all ready to have a child. They kept her anyway due to pressure from both sides of the family, but they seldom gave her any attention outside of the bare minimum. This left Bobby starved for love at a young age, and as a result, she was more clingy to them. Homer and Cara took this clinginess as an opportunity to make her a scapegoat whenever they fought and brush her off as a "nuisance". They also used it as a reason to eventually abandon her. This all happened when Bobby was at the age of 5, and she was placed in an orphanage for some time after this. When she was 7-8 years old, she finally found loving parents in Beckett and Barbara.

Beckett is heavily trained in martial arts. He someday wants to teach this skill to his daughter, but he knows she may not want to do that at this point (she doesn't like to get her hands dirty). Beckett is patient about this aspect of Bobby.

Beckett's side of the family runs a honey farm that is far from the Smiling Critters' hometown. Whenever Beckett visits his parents, he makes sure to bring back honey to share among him, Barbara, and Bobby.

Barbara and Beckett met sometime when Barbara visited Beckett's family's honey farm. They related to each other a lot due to being misunderstood by others, and they eventually fell in love as a result.

Barbara actually works as a teacher at the school the Smiling Critters go to. To avoid bias, however, she agreed to not have Bobby in the same classroom as her. She occasionally checks in on her daughter whenever she is on break to make sure she's okay during the day.

Barbara and Beckett allows Bobby to visit the orphanage sometimes due to her positive experience with the fellow orphans there before getting adopted.

💚⚡Hoppy Hopscotch⚡💚

Members:

Scott Hopscotch - father; 36 years old

Bio: Passionate and a little aggressive. He can have a bad temper at times.

Rebecca Hopscotch - mother; 36 years old

Bio: Excitable and optimistic. She can be pretty reckless outside of parenting decisions.

Harley Hopscotch - older sister; 16 years old

Bio: Reserved and a bit shy, but very protective when it comes to her family's safety.

Hoppy Hopscotch - younger sister; middle; 10 years old

Holly Hopscotch - younger sister; youngest; 4 years old

Bio: She is carefree and imaginative, and her innocence is still very present.

Hoppy respects her parents a lot. They usually encourage her to follow her dreams of being a sports star. In fact, she was inspired to do it because of her mom's role in sports during high school and winning many medals. Hoppy also cares a lot about her sisters, though she wishes they would be more willing to play the kind of games she wants to play. That doesn't happen often since their interests are inclined in different directions. Hoppy would get protective of them if something happened to them.

Hoppy's parents are very happy with their daughters. Specifically for Hoppy, they appreciate the amount of energy she brings to the dynamic. Also happened because of their influence and their own energy. Hoppy's sisters also look up to her in their own right. Though Harley can act very cautious with Hoppy due to how reckless she can be, she appreciates what she does whenever she doesn't feel up to doing things. Holly really looks up to Hoppy despite not being into sports like she is. Holly usually likes piggy backs from her or Harley.

Headcanons:

This family seems to have a habit of cursing. Scott and Rebecca curse often whenever they're mad (mostly for Scott) or feeling intense about something (mostly for Rebecca). Holly and Hoppy usually have to be taken out of the room so they don't pick up on their cursing habits (Harley is the only one allowed to listen). Hoppy listens in anyway, so now she has a habit of occasionally cursing just like her parents. Obviously since the Smiling Critters is intended to be a kids cartoon, the swear words aren't actually heard by the viewers. They're coincidentally and comedically blocked out by something or someone every time. Ironically, Hoppy's parents would get mad if they heard their daughter cursing (secretly a bit proud at the same time, though). She usually tries not to curse in front of them anyway, but she occasionally slips up.

Family game nights are likely very, VERY chaotic with this family... Think like that Odd1sOut Monopoly scene-

Speaking of game nights, imagining this is how Scott and Rebecca met. One time they just had a game night with their high school friends. They basically had a game respects game attitude towards each other and grew very close ever since.

Harley wants to major in English once she makes it to college.

The sweater Hoppy has wrapped around her waist was given to her by Harley as a hand-me-down. Hoppy loved it so much that she has worn it ever since it was given to her. If she were to wear it, it would likely look a bit oversized on her-

Despite Hoppy getting in on the chaos of her parents, she will usually partake in making sure Holly keeps her innocence since she's so young. Basically like a "No! Not the baby!" situation like in Amphibia whenever something that would ruin Holly's innocence is about to happen.

💜🌙CatNap🌙💜

Members:

MewZizz - father; 34 years old

Bio: A calm, quiet guy who likes to play music for anyone willing to listen.

FeLune - mother; 33 years old

Bio: The resident "crazy lady"; She has a mysterious aura, but is she really what she seems?

CatNap - son; 11 years old

CatNap isn't by his parents often, but he still shows appreciation for what they do. Sometimes he can be a little embarrassed by the antics of his mom, but he will help her with any errands she needs done. As for his dad, CatNap appreciates the music he comes up with. He occasionally stops by to see his dad perform whenever he's awake.

CatNap's parents care deeply about their son. MewZizz is worried about his son's mental state sometimes, suspicious of the fact that he sleeps so often throughout the day. Though he knows why, he sometimes tries to convince him of better ways to go about the stress. This doesn't usually work since CatNap is so convinced that he just has to stay as calm as possible through proper sleep. Meanwhile, FeLune nags CatNap out of her own worry. Also because of a lot of the many traits they share with each other... She worries about CatNap going through the same judgement she went through, but she attempts to help him whenever he feels stressed about this.

Headcanons:

FeLune had a love-at-first-sight experience with MewZizz. She was always a part of the audience watching his performances. Eventually, she mustered the courage to talk to him, and they shortly got into a relationship afterward. For MewZizz, he loved FeLune's support and the quirks she had, so he quickly fell in love with her in a similar way.

The poppy gas CatNap has as his second scent came from FeLune's side of the family. FeLune herself had to deal with poppy gas, but she managed to control it to a healthy level. However, before she did, she would often get flak for having this ability, being deemed a monster by many for having it. As a result, this affects the way she feels about her son's poppy gas. She worries a lot about if people found out about this. Little did she know, her excessive worry about it is also what drove CatNap's own fear of the others finding out about his ability.

MewZizz often played lullabies for CatNap when he was younger. CatNap has fond memories of these lullabies, and he even hums them himself whenever he helps put others to sleep.

MewZizz and FeLune are very openly romantic in public. They do a lot of PDA, and sometimes this gets on CatNap's nerves because of how openly they do it.

FeLune was able to have their home installed with their own observatory. Besides his own bedroom, CatNap finds the observatory to be his favorite place to unwind.

(Phew... This took so long to make with the designs and descriptions =v=' I'm sorry for not posting about the AU in a while. I hope this makes up for it- Also tried to not be exactly the same as the existing family dynamics other people came up with for their own interpretations of the Smiling Critters- It's their original OCs after all- I did still get inspired by some things. If anyone has an issue with this, let me know and I'll work something out with my own characters since I don't want to copy off of anyone T^T)

Hope you guys enjoyed this (long) post!

🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

[homunculus-argument]

I have thoughts about war.

I fucking hate war. Passionately so. My hatred of it is among the core defining traits of the fabric of my soul. Every single gram of steel or stone, every drop of oil or blood and every hour of human life that has ever been wasted on war could have been better used for literally anything else. I fucking hate the fact that wars and militaries have to exist, because they only have to exists because wars and militaries exists.

Finland has mandatory military service for all able-bodied men. I got the summons at my time, and I could have ended up doing prison time if I had refused to comply altogether. I barely needed to show up for the medical examination, as my mental health records automatically ranked me at c-tier, "released from service during peace time". But if shit ever hits the fan in Finland, I'm still expected to fight. And I've made peace with that.

I'm a fucking cartoonist, and that is what I'm good for. I'm a terrible aim, dogshit at following instructions and verbal orders, and my skills at improvising were born purely out of my complete incapability of just doing what I was supposed to, exactly the way it was supposed to be done. I know that would make an absolutely dogshit soldier, and not because of some delusion that I would simply be too good to kill people if I had no choice. Nobody is.

I've known plenty of russians, and though they've got their edges, they haven't been bad people. I had a stained glass teacher from Ukraine, whose passport still read "Soviet Union" when he left his homeland for good. Ordinary people who just want to make art, watch movies, and have relationships.

In Finland, we've been watching the war with the grim awareness that every russian soldier who gets shot in Ukraine is another one that won't ever step foot into Finland. And every single one of them would probably also have preferred to be something else than an absolutely dogshit soldier.

[cromulent-marshland]

🍉 FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA

HELPING PALESTINE

If you think that the only way of helping Palestine is going to a protest, then you're not thinking big enough. While protests are amazing, and we need to keep the pressure on Biden and the other world leaders, here's some things you can do in your daily life that also help.

🍉 Follow the BDS list. I'll link some resources of what not to buy and what is safe. I know this gets confusing, but I'll try to give you all the resources you need to make informed decisions.

🍉 Give money to Palestinian organizations. Just like the BDS list, I'll link all the resources I have. Lots of them are helping on the ground to provide aid and give Palestinians a chance to tell the world whats going on.

🍉 Follow Palestinian journalists. I'll link a lot of them down below, but they are the best way to see what's going on right now.

🍉 Listen to Palestinian people. I'm white, so I only want to use my voice to uplift Palestinian ones in this issue. I will stand hand in hand with them and use my privilege to push them to the forefront, but I never want to to take the spotlight away from them.

🍉 Learn Palestinian History. I'll link some great resources I found that helped me learn the history of the Nakba, the constant degradation of Palestinians by Israel, and why this issue needs to be talked about until Palestine is free.

🍉 Distribute reading materials, zines, stickers, or anything else. It's a great way to spread information and lift up Palestinian voices.

Resources after the cut.

RESOURCES

BDS LIST

🍉 What is BDS? - The official website. It tells you want not to buy and all that other fun stuff.

🍉 Sully Iqbal - His TikTok's about the BDS list break it down simply for everyone can understand what it means and how to follow it.

PALESTINIAN ORGANIZATIONS

🍉 CARE FOR GAZA -  Nonprofit that’s taking donations to help get food to the people in Gaza right now. 

🍉 E-SIMS FOR GAZA - eSims are one of the only ways Palestinians have been able to keep in touch with the world and loved ones.

🍉 CARTOONIST CO-OPERATIVE E-SIM DRIVE - If you donate an eSim to Gaza through the link and provide proof, you can get a commission or free art piece from these amazing artists. 

🍉 MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS - an organization on the ground in Gaza working to stock hospitals with essential healthcare supplies.

🍉 MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE - Helps children in Gaza.

🍉 PALESTINE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND  - Also helps children in Gaza.

🍉 UN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM  - They are trying to send aid trucks into Gaza right now and working to get it past Israeli checkpoints.

🍉 DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS  - Many members are in Gaza right now helping in hospitals.

PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS/ NEWS ORGS

🍉 Motaz - Not currently in Gaza, but is important to follow as he goes to plead Palestine's case all over the world.

🍉 Bisan - Currently in Rafah. Makes beautiful documentaries and posts about everyday life.

🍉 Wael - Not in Gaza, might be returning. Works with Al Jazeera in the Middle East.

🍉 Walaa

🍉 Nour Arfaa

🍉 Doaa

🍉 Aya

🍉 Al Jazeera - Good news source. Actually gives you information about what's going on in Gaza.

🍉 Lama - The youngest journalist in Gaza right now at 9 years old.

PALESTINIAN HISTORY

🍉 BLACK ZINE ARCHIVE LINKS FOR PALESTINE - Lots of good resources and articles about Palestine 

🍉 ISRAEL PALESTINE CONFLICT - SIMPLIFIED

🍉 A GUIDE TO PALESTINE FOR BEGINNERS

🍉 POLITICAL EDUCATION PODCAST PLAYLIST  - by Emma Kim Rust

ZINES/READING MATERIALS/PRINTS/ETC.

🍉 LIST OF WRITERS AND ARTISTS MARTYRED IN GAZA 

🍉 BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT SANCTIONS by Omar Barghouti 

🍉 FREE EBOOKS FOR A FREE PALESTINE 

🍉 THE OCCUPATION OF WATER

🍉 PALESTINE ZINES AND READING LIST - by @cyclista_zine

🍉 PALESTINE ZINES -  by ig @illegibledistro

🍉 THE FREE PALESTINE ISSUE - by Mizna 

🍉 PALESTINE: A SOCIALIST INTRODUCTION Edited by Sumaya Awad and brian bean 

🍉 "ISRAEL IS MASSACRING US. PALESTINIANS NEED PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKE A STAND" -  by Ahmed Abu Artema, October 17, 2023  Middle Eastern Eye

🍉 "LIGHT IN GAZA" - edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bin, et al.

🍉 "THE NAKBA AND PALESTINIAN REFUGEES: IMEU QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS" - by Institute for Middle East Understanding, May 5th 2022

🍉 PALESTINE READING LIST - by Dogfish99

🍉FREE PROTEST ART - Paste it in your city.  

🍉 MORE PROTEST ART

BOOKS 

Analysis and history 

🍉 “The Question of Palestine” Edward W. Said 

🍉 “Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics” by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick 

🍉 “ The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017” by  Rashid Khalidi  

Poetry 

🍉 “Words under the Words: selected poems” Naomi Shihab Nye 

🍉 “Birthright” by George Abraham 

🍉 “ Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow.”  by Noor Hindi 

🍉 “Rifqa” Mohammed El-Kurd 

🍉 “I could die today & live again” by Summer Farah

🍉 “Born Palestinian, Born Black” by Suheir Hammad

🍉 “ How water holds me” by Tariq Luthun 

🍉 “Almond Blossoms and Beyond” collected works of Mahmoud Darwish 

Fiction

🍉 “Minor Detail” by Adania Shibli 

🍉 “Against the Loveless World” Susan Abulhawa

🍉 “The Book of Ramallah” Short Stories edited by Maya Abu al-Hayat

OTHER ACTIONS YOU CAN DO

🍉 STOP THE GAZA GENOCIDE TOOLKIT - Very important. A treasure trove of information. 

🍉 FREE AND FAST WAYS TO SUPPORT PALESTINE

🍉 PALESTINIAN BUSINESSES - Support people and Palestinian businesses directly. 

🍉 CALL CONGRESS: STOP FUELING VIOLENCE

🍉 JAM THE PHONE LINES

🍉 WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR PALESTINE BLANK ZINE - Fill it out and hand it out to give out when you're in public.

If you have any more resources or suggestions, reblog them under this post or DM me and I can add it to the original post. Free Palestine. We can't give up on Gaza, no matter how tired we may be. They need our help.

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Asians are all the same, right? The racism of a company cock gurgling moron

Like herpes and unlike the Dobbear, I am back baby.

At this point, deepest apology for my long absence. Personal issues over the last two years prevented me from writing anything and also destroyed for the longest time any desire to really continue the blog.

However, I don’t want to let things unfinished and seeing how the hypocricyofandrewdobson still manages to get some rise out of old Dobson related stuff, I wanted to just return, in order to properly contribute a bit more critical thinking in regard to his old comics.

And while I will not immediately return to my retrospective of SYAC, here is at least (for a start) my opinion on one comic of his, that in my opinion just proved hilarious and controversial in hindsight, and rather racist even back then.

I admit, I don’t know anymore what the title of the comic here is. All I know is, that it came out around 2018, shortly after the release of his “Black Panther” comic, another malignant piece of Dobtrash that has made the rounds online ever since. However, unlike the Black Panther comic, which became the center of a lot of discussion regarding Dobson’s racist assumptions about comic book fans while ironically trying to present himself as woke, this one was weirdly drifting off into obscurity. Which is kinda weird, cause in my opinion, it is way more racist and actually kinda insulting to the very craft Dobson supposedly “dedicated” his life to.

Let me explain.

First, over the course of three panels, Dobson comes essentially off like he is considering the medium of comics as inferior to the medium of movies. Making it look as if comics are unsuccessful because they cannot rail in the same amount of money than certain flics and calling them at best nothing more but a pitching ground for corporations to create new shallow mass product.

Now I am a bit of a realist and I know that, especially in the world of mainstream American superhero comics, this is kinda the case. Most comic book characters, stories and franchises are owned by multibillion dollar corporations, who either have a direct hand in the creation of the product (via corporate mandate for example) and/or use the likeness of the product to make profit in additional, more valuable revenues than the printed medium. Such as cartoons, merchandise and movies. One example I can think of, to show that it isn’t just an American issue: Yugioh. The card game wouldn’t have come to be if there hadn’t been a manga starring a little boy putting together an ancient Egyptian puzzle, but while the original manga ended way back in March of 2004, the card game makes millions globally still after 25 years and counting.

But that doesn’t change the fact, that comics as a medium still have value. Without the stories told within their pages, we wouldn’t have characters such as Captain America, Superman, the Mask, the Ninja Turtles and so on to begin with. Don’t get me even started on stories that aren’t falling into the American mainstream comic trend, but still succeeded in the printed comic medium partly because of genuine artistic and profound value such as Maus, Barefoot Gen, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, TinTin and a shitton of (other) stuff from Europe and Asia.

So when Dobson, who always acted like he is proud to be a cartoonist and that comics are a superior medium to others, suddenly reduces them to just being a “pitch ground for better stuff down the line” at best, I as a fan of the medium and just the art of creating stories in itself, get kinda pissed.

Additionally, the way how he compares movies to be better than comics, is severely flawed.

He brings up the fact, that “Captain America: Civil War” made over one billion dollars at the box office as an example, while pointing out the fact, that most single comic issues barely manage to sell 100.000 copies, while holding up a copypasted “Civil War” issue.

Already, Dobson essentially compares apples with bananas, while also giving both false and incomparable data, that also ignores many aspects to be considered.

For starters: He compares the earnings of both movies and comics with two different values. For movies, he goes by the monetary profit a superhero movie could possibly make, while for the comic issue, he goes by the total number of copies sold.

But here is the thing: Assuming the average selling price of a comic is at 4 dollars for a single 30 page issue, selling 100.000 copies would ring in like 400.000 dollars. And considering that producing one issue likely costs a company less than 20.000 dollars (obvious costs for mass production and distribution not withstanding) they can still make a decent profit this way from ONE issue alone. One issue. Not multiple issues of a long running, but sadly underperforming series. All of that by the way doesn’t even account for the fact, that most single issues at best tell only a quarter of a decent short story nowadays and ignores later “long term” factors, such as reprints of the issue, late term buying of the issue, tradepaperback sells of the issue, the longterm effect and cultural impact the issue may have on the actual series or plot continuity  (such as Amazing Spiderman 122, aka “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”). Don’t get me even started on the fact, that many of these issues get first sold in the US and only over the course of one year or longer may then additionally be sold in other parts of the world, therefore bringing in even more money for the publisher.

Example: The Duck comics by Don Rosa, which earn more than four times more in Europe, than they ever did in America, despite the guy being from California. Finally, a a little add addendum: that example Dobson gives indirectly via the “Civil War” issue? A quick google search revealed, that Civil War issue 1 sold over 300k copies in May of 2006 alone. Sure, not necessarily the best numbers ever for a single issue (as evident by the following list: https://bookriot.com/bestselling-comics-of-all-time/ )but still nothing to be ashamed of.

And yes, I know that we live currently in a time, where comic book sells have dropped significantly for a variety of reasons, one of them being an overall lack of decent stories. But as long as other stuff still manages to run freaking circles around American superheroes (*cough* One Piece *cough*) I wouldn’t say the medium itself is dead. Just a specific branch of it is suffering from a lack of quality and the customers are jumping ship.

A superhere movie meanwhile is a completely different beast. Ever since “The Avengers” came out in 2012, most superhero movies are 150-250 million dollar behemoths, that get overhyped by advertisement campaigns that are almost equally as expensive and try to trick the audience into believing, that they all are somehow the next big mindblowing thing on the big screen. Plus there hasn’t really been a superhero movie in the last 10+ years, that didn’t release simultaneously worldwide, instead of only coming out in the USA, and then a few months later, in other parts of the world.

So is it any wonder then, if a superhero movie that got advertised like the second coming of a saint, makes 1 billion, when there are already billions of potential customers worldwide all at once when the product launches?

That number btw becomes actually less impressive, once you start to think about how it came to be. Something our blue bear obviously didn’t.

See, on average every movie theater demands like what, 12-14 dollars per movie nowdays?

If we divide the box office of Civil war (1.152 billion btw) with 12 dollars, that makes on average 100 million people worldwide who watched the movie. A bit more than one or two percent of the worlds population. Not to forget, that of the box office success we have to substract such things as production cost of the movie, advertisement, the earnings of the theaters… so suddenly the movie may at best have had only earned one quarter of its box office for Disney as actual profit.

Not to forget, Dobson made that comic in 2018, when superhero movies on average did ring in so much money, because of the hype machine. But now we have 2023 and within the last five years (and especially 2023 itself) we have seen how superhero movies can also utterly fail to make money or even earn just enough to make back the production cost. Birds of Prey, Eternals, Ant Man 3, that Secret Invasion streaming show that still cost over 200 million… Do I need to get on?

Bottom line, Dobson’s indirect jab at comics as the less profitable revenue doesn’t hold that much water really in the real world, where once the hype dies down, comics may actually prove themselves as the more valuable longterm medium. Even if it may just be for the fact, that they end up staying longer relevant in the popcultural subconscious than the current movies, which tend to lose relevance with each new hastily produced and released installment in the franchise.

But where this comic really shines and shows Dobson’s ignorance on a cultural level, is in the last panel. When all off sudden it turns “racial” by claiming that Asian people, unlike “traditional” comic readers (aka white, in Dobbear s eyes therefore instantly racist people), would eat a Marvel character like Amadeus Cho up.

Question Dobson: Why do you assume, they would eat him up? You give no real argument based on anything the character does storywise, that the ��target audience” may find admirable. So I can only think, that your reasoning is, because he is ever so slightly east asian coded.

Boy, do we have to unpack not just a can of worms, but a whole package of cans now.

First, the chosen language by saying “eat it up”. When being a writer, you should know that you need at times to choose your words wisely, because of the sheer implications they can carry. And the statement “eat it up” sounds way to close to a negative statement like “suck it up”. Making it come off as if Dobson considers Asian people to be mindless cattle that will consume the grub the House of Mouse will give them without question or any desire for actual quality to it.

Second, it recks of a certain mind set I hate within the American entertainment industry and some of its creators and consumers. That mind set being, that “non-traditional” American cultures supposedly don’t know better than Americans in what is okay for the sake of representation and entertainment or not. It’s a mindset that goes beyond the necessity of e.g. localizing a foreign product to the national market, by e.g. creating a sterilized, corporately mandated and rather unrealistic depiction of another culture within their product, that will fall apart as soon as the people who are supposed to be represented get a proper look at it and realize, how pandering and often times badly researched, if not outright offensive, it is.

Only recently did we see in the world of animation how that can backfire, when Disney released the trailer for “Primos” an upcoming animated show supposedly about a half Latina girl spending her summer vacation with her annoying cousins, people calling it based on the intro (and a leaked pilot) pandering towards a latino audience in a racist manner. And guess what: currently, Disney shelves it and tries to bury its existence like Dobson his old inflation art.

Dobson himself has actually indulged in that sort of shit kinda, back with his infamous Nintendo comic.

Essentially calling the “true”, Nintendo corporation approved depiction of his childhood Nintendo heroes disgraceful, for not falling in line with the late 80s depictions he saw in localized, made in America products such as the DiC cartoons. That and minor homophobia mixed with misogyny by calling Link “girly” for having longer blond hair since Ocarina of Time and blaming fangirls for it.

Third, and that is kinda related to my prior point, the reality of things is, that “Asians” actually did not eat up that sort of thing in the last couple of years. Sure, there is always that thing about a Chinese market. the big movie companies try to pander to and may succeed with some dumb action flics featuring big robots.

But the reality is, that not even people living in a dictatorship will eat up every trash you give to them, just because it comes from Hollywood or is supported by their glorious leadership. Disney tried to create two pandering messes of movies for Chinese people to watch, called Mulan (the live action adaptation) and that Shang Chi movie. And how did they do there? Oh right! The government did not even allow Shang Chi to be released and Mulan was released but supposedly didn’t do so well, considering (COVID not withstanding) it only made 70 million globally!

Don’t get me even started on every human right controversy in relation to the later, starting with filming in China near a concentration camp and ending with the main actress being essentially a Chinese propaganda puppet.

So, if those movies flopped, why would Chinese people for example flock for an Asian Hulk? A hulk that is not even Chinese but Korean.

See, this is another issue that fails with the example: The actual choice of character Dobson name dropped is actually kinda terrible.

For those unaware: Amadeus Cho is a supporting character in the Marvel comics, created in 2005 by American writer Greg Pak and artist Takeshi Miyazawa. The later, despite the name being very east Asian, sounding, actually being from Canada. Now both do have east Asian roots so to speak (Pak  e.g. is the son of an Korean-american man with a Caucasian woman), but they also have grown up within a society that taught them both western social values more so than we would see in east Asian countries. So with the creators already not necessarily having the most real life experience with the average mindset of a Korean citizen, can we really say that their actual creation helps “represent” those people of a foreign, non-american culture?

And that is not even covering stuff like the actual story of the character itself.

See, in the comics, Cho is supposed to be an American-Korean genius (wish fullfillment much, Greg?) and one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe. His parents named him after Amadeus Mozart (a pretty white motherfucker as far as I remember) and he grew up under Methodist beliefs. So basically the “Korean heritage” of the character has already been thrown out of the window. Now I don’t expect the character to act stereotypical Korean, listen to K-pop, declare bulgogi to be his favorite dish or any of that shit. But when you want to sell me the character as being in some way or another connected to his ancestral culture, shouldn’t he engage at least in some “Korean coded” things?

I mean, the character of Anne Boonchuy in Amphibia is a Thai-American who acts more like a 13 year old girl that learns to be less selfish and impulsive over the course of the show and whose “heritage” isn’t thrown at us, the viewer, most of the time. In fact, Anne herself acknowledges that she e.g. can’t really speak thai, despite her own mother being fluent in it and a season 3 episode reveals, that Anne is “begrudgingly” a part of the L.A. thai community. And yet, in connection to the shows story and as part of Anne’s characterization, her heritage is acknowledged and plays a part of who she is. Even if it simply means she knows how to cook certain thai dishes, loves her parents and their customs, helps out in their restaurant, can speak a few words thai and knows the basics of Muay Thai, a form of martial arts (and fighting sport) from Thailand.

Amadeus doesn’t even have Korean parents anymore, because they were killed as part of his tragic hero backstory. Nor has he ever visited an Asian country. Oppps.

To build further up on it, Amadeus becomes for the longest time simply a major supporting character in the Marvel universe for the likes of Hulk and Hercules, two white coded characters. Sure, he plays a major role in the defeat of some cosmic horror level villains (such as Mikaboshi in the Chaos God storyline most people forgot even existed) but it takes a long time for him to become a “A-lister” so to speak.

In fact, according to Wikipedia, it wasn’t till after “Secret Wars” in 2016 (eleven years after the character was created), that Amadeus thanks to a chain of events eventually got his chance to Hulk out. And then they still had to kill Bruce Banner to make Amadeus “stand out” initially (don’t worry, Bruce came back. I mean, characters actually staying dead in comics, so that heroes can learn there are consequences? Preposterous) In fact, Amadeus hasn’t really proven himself as a decent “solo” act. Instead he became a member of the Champions (among Miles Morales, Mrs. Marvel, Vision’s daughter Viv. Nova and Cyclops), essentially creating yet another superhero team for teenaged vigilantes. Despite the fact, Cho himself should be by now in his mid 20s.

Now look, I do not want to shit talk the character. Partly because I haven’t read everything he was in myself and partly because in the few things I did see him in (both pre- and post Hulk) he was okay. He is a decent hero and person, who tries to do good, even if he screws up here and there. That is something I can admire in a character in general. But he is not a good “representation” of another culture, because his complexion and minor physical features aside, he is NOT embodying even minor values or traditions of that foreign culture. He is simply a Korean-American (or technically Canadian), who falls more on the American side of things.

So essentially, Dobson who virtue signaled on multiple occasions how bad it is when companies he didn’t like tried to speak on behalf of other cultures, would have no problem at all to ask for Asian people to swallow this obviously “Made in American” product. The “Made in America” line actually working both on a metaphorical and a storytelling level, cause trying to google what “east Asian coded” heroes in the Marvel Universe actually come from an Asian country instead of being simply born on American soil, is pretty damn small.

After 20 minutes I only found Shang Chi, as he was born in China, and that character was created as part of kung-fu exploitation in the 70s by white dudes.

Yaiks

However, none of that tops the next two points that really sell Dobson to me as an American centralistic racist. Or at least a twat who doesn’t understand how through bad wording he comes of as ignorant of other people’s cultures.

The way he generalizes Asian people in his statement, while also ignoring the actual accomplishments in the creation of entertainment in multiple Asian countries.

If you’ve read closely what I typed, you may have seen that I used the term Asian at times in tandem with the term “east Asian” to e.g. describe Amadeus Cho.

And that had a very deliberate reason. While I was not a fan of geography in school, even I know that Asia as a continent is not “nationally” as homogenous as let’s say Australia or North America. In fact, Asia is the biggest continent on the planet, hosts more than half of earth’s population and consists of at least 47 internationally acknowledged states.

States such as Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, North- and South Korea, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Iran and so on.

Now what all these states have in common, is that they have their own unique historical, social and “racial” culture and background. Heck, religiously speaking, Asia is the cradle of the world.

As such, Dobson stating that a “Korean coded” character such as Amadeus Cho (who is only Korean on the most surface level and would technically just be a legacy character of yet another white person) would be an immediate hulk smash hit with all these different people of different backgrounds…. Yeah, it sounds like condescending, colonization inspired shit, a smooth brain would come up with.

To Dobson “Asia”, at least based on that comic, is only defined as the “yellow skinned” people from the far east, who like rice, noodles, spicy food and give us anime, Godzilla, fireworks, buddhism and communism. It does not include anyone from the middle east or of more European ancestry. And if you are even remotely familiar about history, you would also know that Japanese, Koreans and Chinese all around do not e.g. like to be thrown into a pot with the others for a variety of reasons. Many of them political.

Or to sum it up even shorter: Dobson insinuated that a very shallow, “east Asian” coded American comic character would be an immediate hit with more than 47 different countries, ignoring that not all of them share the same background despite being part of the “same” landmass. And in doing so, he simultaneously generalized and denounced entire groups of people based on their racial and cultural background, which in as far as I am aware of, is considered racist.

But the “racism” is supposedly justified, because “representation” matters, it would be giving the middle finger to “traditional” comic fans and those nations and their culture are underrepresented globally.

Which is baloney.

Don’t get me wrong, I myself think that representation does matter. But the world does not necessarily rely on the good old US-Ayy only to give it to us.

Cause a lot of the Asian nations I brought up here? They have their own entertainment industry and stories, which again, get ignored by Dobson to make a dumb and false point.

I mean, manga is currently dominating the international comic market, all while Japan has also a booming animation industry and some of the most iconic heroes in modern popculture with the likes of Son Goku, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai etc.

China has a prominent -if propaganda driven- movie industry.

India has Bollywood and delivers some of the most ridiculous but awesome musical movies on the planet.

Russia had authors such as Tolstoy and movie directors, that redefined the “art” of filmmaking.

Korea had a few years ago one of the biggest streaming hits with Squid Game, while also earning an Oscar for a movie titled Dobs- I mean “Parasite”.

Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey… even nations that have not entertainment living up to “western standards” still produce stuff in some way or form to entertain the masses and their people. Just google up the character Kara Murat aka the avenger of Anatolia.

And don’t get me even started on the sheer ton of mythology, stories and history each of their cultures have provided the world with. Journey to the West? Baba Yaga, the entirety of the Gilgamesh epos...

And yet, there is this indirect assumption by Dobson, that all of them would be so deprived of “heroes” in their media and folklore, they would letch on second hand shop Hulk? Fuck off, Dobbear. I know you like to suck corporate cock as long as you think they are woke and you have childhood nostalgia for them, but this is pathetic. Take Amadeus before A Rama Raju comes around and roundhouse kicks him back to Canada. Then get the taste of mouse smegma of your Disney cock gobbling lips.

[reimenaashelyee]

This is maybe not so important to announce but it's going to affect my online activity/webcomic updates, so here it is:

I am going back to school and pursuing a Masters in Arts Management until 2025

If you recall, I have spoken several times in my blog about my past life in academia, the quarter-life crisis that resulted from it (not the full story), and the occasional spasm of desiring institutional recognition.

I am willingly! voluntarily! going back through the gates of the ivory tower.

For the past few years now, I’ve been slowly crabwalking towards an administrative, organisational, educational/resource-providing, leadership-type role in my areas of work (comics, writing, illustration, commercial art).

I hinted about somewhat being sick of the physical and emotional investment of comics-making trapping me to the same four-walls. The 2-ish years of hard commitment that each graphic novel demands is something that I don’t mind doing, especially for a story I truly believe in. However, I cannot keep doing this consecutively. For two years, I keep having visions of myself in my late-fifties asking me, now, if this is all worth it: to devote all this time to make comics that people like, but to not have a life lived? I am thinking of those mangaka who spend all their time breathing eating knowing only comics, and then suddenly, dying with not much to show except their impressive body of work. Did they see enough of the world? Did they eat enough good food? Have they discovered all their non-comics passions? I certainly don’t want my ghost to ask the same questions when she sees my body.

In a way I’ve sort of outgrown that shine of comics as a full-time job: ironically, in my success at producing audience/market-friendly work in exchange for financial support, I do not have time at all to pursue experimental, personal play and art that truly speaks to me. I’m also facing the reality that, as much as I enjoy working in traditional publishing, I am running out of ideas. I only have 2 to 3 more stories left in me for young adult/middle grade graphic novels. After that? I don’t know…

(Unless the new graphic novel imprints are suddenly hungry for adult work. Because, boy, do I have ten billion ideas.)

Anyway, the situation is that the majority of the graphic novel space in traditional publishing is still cashing in on the boom for middle-grade/young adult stories, with no long-sighted consideration for catering to those readers who will eventually, definitely grow up into adults. Meanwhile, I am running out of kids stories and am desperate to make bloody, complicated work (the kind of stuff I was already making pre-success and am still making), and to disentangle the actual act of creating from income-making. Not in the sense that I don’t want money at all from my comics; just that I don’t want comics to be my primary source of income anymore. And personally… I just want more time to live and be offline.

So this is the emotional aspect that’s been motivating my crabwalking. Still, if that was not a factor, this was always going to be the natural progression of my career anyway.

Like, considering that I began my career as co-founder of a regional comics network and my life-long practice of creating resources, it’s not that surprising. Even when I formally officialised my career in 2018 as a Traditionally Published, Professional Comics Creator in the Mid-list, I was also engaging in the administrative with my dayjob at Hiveworks, in addition to the aforementioned regional comics network UNNAMED, and now, the Cartoonist Cooperative. I continually make resources and facilitate them. The dayjob is expanding to include even larger responsibilities (it’s not really company-related, just a consulting thing we’re doing with a giant entity).

Clearly, the horizontal pivoting has gotten to the point where that aspect is becoming the majority of my practice, into something that I actually want to form the bulk of my career and the foundation of my 30s era. It’s happening at the same time as my desire to withdraw from the cycle of commercial production to focus on what I call studio/residency work aka sketching and making my webcomics.

So yeah, I’ve decided to formalise the other half of what I am already doing, since in this universe one can’t get a job in corporate/NGO/NPO art administration without a degree – despite years of experience and evidence of extremely specialised skills that don’t exist in a university course but are valuable on the ground (do they teach comics crowdfunding and webcomics marketing/production in tertiary?). And I do intend to go somewhat corporate, even if it’s as someone who runs a literary festival or artist residency. Because I actually find pleasure in doing all that admin juggling. I like helping artists pursue their practice. It engages a side of my brain that is understimulated since I stopped academia.

I went to the Orientation session on Thursday. It had been exactly 8 years since I last did an Orientation for school; I am no longer a wide-eyed doe so the entire time I was barrelling through the throngs of baby undergraduates and sitting through the talks with laser-focused practicality (putting aside the nice-sounding speeches for the actual hard facts of where stuff is and who to contact; though the speeches were quite thoughtful).

Anyway,

anyway…

This is a long-winded post to break the Jinx and say I am officially pursuing my Masters in Arts Management. Two years of this. Who knows what may happen?

Hopefully I will come out with better experiences this round, since this would be the first time that I chose a course not out of anxiety for the unknown, but because I very much know what I want based on experience actually working in industry.

[thekoopalingsandstuffs]

(I've been waiting half the year to do this)

I have a problem with... Nothing about the holiday itself. It's about the BUNNY. And not even the whole egg laying thing! Just. Fictional rabbits in general. Whyyy do rabbits in fiction look like THAT??? Have cartoonists even SEEN a bunny before???

FIRST OF ALL:

What is that THING on its face?? Many cartoon rabbits (not ALL, but like 99%) have this huge (usually pink) ball for a nose. ...... WHY???

I present to you, friends, an actual bunny nose:

A little slit. Just a Y. There is no huge pink ball.

There's no pink ANYTHING!

My personal theory for this is that people got confused while drawing and are thinking of cat/dog noses? The animals kinda look somewhat similar. And I'm sure people see cats/dogs WAY more often than they see bunnies.

While on the subject of the muzzle area, I'd like to point out that rabbits' teeth aren't visible most of the time. Rabbits are often drawn with huge buck teeth (Which, granted, they DO have in real life) but you only see them if they specifically have their mouths open! The average little bunny hopping around, minding its own business, has no visible teeth sticking out.

And speaking of the cat/dog similarity... Bunnies don't have paw pads. Toe beans. Whatever you want to call them. The areas under their feet? It's just fur. (I'm amazed that even though a lucky rabbit's foot seems to be a common collectible, people don't know this)

I 100% blame this on the cats-

Fun fact: Paw pads are a clear sign of a predator. (Ferrets also have paw pads!) But prey animals like mice and hedgehogs don't.

(Random bonus fun fact: Rabbits used to be classified as rodents! But in 1912, they were put into the order of lagomorpha. Aaaand, that is why "rodent" is considered a racial slur in my AU-)

Another sign of a predator? Having both eyes on the front of the face. (This one I can forgive, though, since cartoon animals need more human-like faces to be more expressive, which means more flat, same-way-facing features) But I still think it's interesting. Very few cartoon rabbits have the proper elongated head with outward pointing eyes. Several prey animals, from little critters to livestock to fish—All have features like that. It's why things like owls look so weird in comparison to other birds. They're predators.

Does THIS look right to you???

Aaaaaaanyways, now that my rant is pretty much over...

What exactly are these creatures, why are they masquerading as cute animals, why do they do it so poorly, and what are they planning to do with your children???

(Also, uh, what's with the eggs...?)

[netherworldpost]

I am a cartoonist, and a writer, and a storyteller, and a mythology researcher, and a creator, and a bunch of weird art things rolled into one.

I spend the my free time in diners, cemeteries, pumpkin patches, haunted houses... all very Halloween charming wonder and terror.

I'm equally inspired by the raw, cold, unyielding, unnegotiable, raw, unflinching brutality of a mathematical calculation.

This duality is part of my... charm.

So I built a question:

Start at Current Level of a single thing -- life, work, love, sex, relationships, progress towards writing, painting, sculpting, poetry, exercise, it doesn't matter -- set the current level you are at to 0%.

The entirety of your goal is improving this Current Level of Whatever thing by 1%. Every day. Your singular improvement goal is being 1% better at it today than you were yesterday.

Your singular improvement for tomorrow? To be 1% better than your base. Not 1% better today, 1% better tomorrow, 1% better the next day -- this is important -- get 1% better. That's it. That is your goal. Get 1% better, and then maintain this 1% improvement.

Thus ending the Current Improvement Goal on your Current Level.

See attached chart.

Maintaining this 1% improvement, consistently, I suggest, will push you forward to eventual improvement overall.

There are some days you won't improve, or get worse, but in general, averaging 1% improvement, maintained, you'll steadily climb towards your maximum level of potential vs. desire, of said thing.

Consistent practice makes consistent progress.

HERE COMES THE MATH BUT DON'T BE SCARED I HAVE DONE IT FOR YOU

If you are generally able to get 1% better, how often will this consistent practice push you up to 2%?

Roughly, give or take, 2 months.

Then, give or take, 3 months, you'll be 3% better, as measured against your base of 0%.

I feel like the thesis begins to break down at this point because compounding is starting to accelerate pretty quick after this (4x is Day 140-141) --

-- but as a generalized starting point?

That's not bad.

Figure out what you want to improve at.

Try to be 1% better at it tomorrow.

Work to build up a consistent 1% improvement from where you are of today towards it.

It is 12:13 AM and thus I am (by policy) able to work again on this start up that I own outright but am bound to my own rules (no working on days off)

I had some Business Questions to Answer.

I used the above thesis as a warmup.

And I hope this helps.

Get 1% spookier, or gayer, or bi-er, or pan-er, or ace-er, or more gender {direction and/or evaporation}, or more efficient at your housework, or cooking skills, or sewing skills, or car repair skills, or cleaning house skills, or standing up for yourself, or drawing, or writing, or poetry, or more consistent at making art and caring less about the opinion of others, or programming an AI bot that will someday destroy us all because why not, or prepare political holiday arguments for family dinners you don't want to attend but do want to create chaos at, or personal confidence, or sillier

or whatever you want to do be go etc.

onwards to a few hours of late night spreadsheets, then drawing dryads kissing, then waffles at first light!

Happy Halloween everyone!

It's almost October!

[trashyreptilian]

Man, look at these dudes- The volume. 1 dudes!!-

Yes, I'm still alive. I promise I'm not dead trust me guys please- ahfshagfgsa,, Been wanting to draw some proper ref. sheets of the boys for a while. These are the designs for any AU related content soooo get used to it hehe~

================================================

Biographies (long read):

((If it wasn't obvious, everything you're reading below is all made up stuff for my AU. Fanon junk basically.))

-General Info-

Full Name: Mark Heathcliff

Age: 18

Height: 6'0'' ft

Gender: Male

Sex: Male

Species: Human

Homeplace: Mandela County, Wisconsin (US)

Romantic/Sexual Orientation: Greyromantic asexual

-Other Info-

Personality?: Seemingly a nonchalant type of guy, just living his life and avoiding to attract attention. Often feeling like he doesn't fit in with society or any kind of community. He's not much for showing strong emotions, not near random people at least. Typical for him to carry around an "I don't care" attitude and crack jokes during bad times, but it all serves as a means of protecting himself. Being more than aware that showing his vulnerable side to the wrong people, can possibly be used back against him. The calm exterior hides an emotionally struggling artist, who's suffered through past childhood abuse from his mother. Sometimes that pain rises to the surface and accidentally shows up through unexpected mood swings or defensive outbursts. However, Mark knows well how badly he manages his own negative emotions. This kind of heated temper only shows up when heavily provoked or felt like he's backed into a corner. He might seem like a loner, yet in actuality, he's got a few close select people they care about a lot. And, depends on, more than he'd like to admit. But solely because of that, he shows a strong willingness to go far to protect them. Even if it somehow risks his own well-being. Seen in these instances, his more assertive and bold-self comes out.

Thinks Before Acting?: It's mixed with him, either does or doesn't depending on the situation. Typically, he'll try thinking over his actions and words. Especially when he can sense a bad outcome. Though, he's far from being the most calculated guy.

Positive Traits?: Mellow, modest, imaginative, soft-hearted, protective and audacious.

Negative Traits?: Reserved, insecure, confrontational, defensive, self-destructive and resentful.

Way Of Speaking?: Can talk in two languages, the main one is American English. Has knowledge in speaking Spanish, but it's kinda subpar. Remembers mostly from the lessons he had in school. On the odd occasion only uses it around Cesar, who encourages him to improve. His voice is generally calm and soft, with no particular accent. At times, loves using a mocking or sarcastic tone. (Headcanon voice: https://youtu.be/2rHRztFGOm8?t=1)

Occupation?: Works as a stock clerk at a furniture store. Assists with unpacking delivered items, organizing the stockroom, inspecting inventory and so forth. Also, he takes overnight shifts when possible for extra cash. Of course, the entire job itself is for financial stability. Otherwise, he cares little about it. Had hoped to get into some kind of art career instead, possibly becoming a cartoonist. Sadly, he's never gotten such an opportunity as he grew up. Didn't help that he lacked complete confidence, and still does to this day. So it all remains but a little fantasy he thinks about.

Powers/Skills?: Mark being human, don't expect supernatural abilities like how alternates have. However, in his very rare case, having an alternate for a parent did unexpectedly help improve him physically, and made able to defend himself. At a younger age of sixteen, he was gifted his first weapon which was a pistol Glock 19. With help from his father, he trained in remote areas. Shooting useless items that were used as targets. Now, he's well-practiced enough in using it properly, discreetly carrying it when out at nighttime. Of course, not limited to just a pistol. He's also got a metal bat safely tucked away in his bedroom. But for as long as he's known, anything can be a weapon. In a fight, he'll manage some inventive ways to beat someone up. Not exactly a person with a strong-build, yet he makes up for endurance. Fairly fast when running, most likely to outrun anyone. The type of guy to pick his fights. Besides all that, survival skills. Learned a few tricks throughout all the times he's gone out camping. Particularly good at starting a fire. Maybe a little too good.

Hobbies?: Main hobby is drawing, pretty much remained so since he was a kid. His art style is very stylized, expressive and exaggerated. Taken inspiration from his favorite animated shows and movies. He'll usually use a regular sketchbook with a pencil and pen to draw. But he dabbles in other unique methods like graffiti, and pastel art. A more recent past time is using a camcorder. What he chooses to record is random. Can either be a quick recording of his cat, or footage of activities and ramblings. For whatever reason he just finds it relaxing. Not to mention, it's his way of better preserving memories besides taking photos. Something else he does to unwind is watch movies and TV series, or play video games. His favorite overall genre is horror and thriller. On the lighter side, he loves all stuff that's animated, comedy and adventure fiction. Also, collects merchandise related to his favored media. Considers it a luxury, so he's not gung-ho about it. While these are all things he typically does alone. Camping and exploring abandoned places, are done together with his dad. Since they can't hang out together in broad daylight, they always go out during the night. Their activities start regularly, but sometimes end in some sort of chaos when they get overboard with property ending up mysteriously ruined. Just a not so subtle clue into what exactly happens on their trips.

Habits?: Often smokes and drinks. The first one is easier for him to keep controlled, the other is an addiction. Possibly inherited from his mother. He's aware of that, yet doesn't seem to understand how poorly it could affect him in the future. Both are used when stressed or annoyed, but gravitates towards the alcohol mostly. An insomniac, his sleep schedule has been, and still is, irregular. Tends to be active out of nowhere during later hours, and taking overnight shifts doesn't help him. All coupled together, it's easy to imagine his self-care is kinda non-existent. Not to say he's lacking in it, it's out of sheer tiredness and apathy. Irritability is a rather serious tendency due to trauma, and a main fueling reason for the reliance on bad substances. It worsens when experiencing a chain of obstacles, no matter if minor or severe. There's no clear pattern as he can seem fine in the moment, yet takes but one nudge to tip him off the edge. Resulting in sudden outbursts, causing to shut himself off from others.

Relationships?: Mark's dad has remained an integral part of his life. Who's in fact a type three alternate named Him. It's been the only one he's ever looked up to and known as family. Same impersonator was supposed to replace his biological father. It never happened as the target left Mark at a very early age before anything transpired. Sadly, living with an abusive mother got him in a worse vulnerable state. So getting attached to something inhuman, but loving, shouldn't be so surprising. Their growing bond continued while no one else had a clue. He has never cared that it's an alternate. Despite how much he's unintentionally seen and heard it lash out onto other alternates. Its raw wrathful nature is no secret. He looks past it as a means of protection. Many times he has wished he could be as reliable, strength-wise. Since Him's the single father, best friend and role-model he's ever had, he sees it in high regards. Mark would go to Hell and back for it, if need be. The relationship is far from perfect, both struggle to communicate sometimes. Opening up emotionally is hard too. For Him it's worse but as they say, like father like son. They stay silent of all this, safety's sake and to avoid unwanted attention. Living together in a little run-down apartment. Interacting with an alternate for nearly his whole childhood didn't make Mark the most sociable person. Frequently having trouble socializing, he gave up trying to befriend people his age. At some point he simply preferred being on his own. However, one real person managed to start a friendship with him. Cesar Torres. He and Mark were both young teens around the same age when they met. Cesar was a couple of months older. His outgoing personality had Mark spooked. He had little faith they'd be friends for how opposite they appeared. Took a while when he gave him a chance, once he felt like Cesar's character was genuine. They've grown close as friends over the years, Mark still remains secretive on a lot of stuff happening in his life. Usually for understandable reasons, but Cesar would appreciate to be trusted better. Nonetheless, they get along great. Both admire certain qualities the other has which they don't themselves. They enjoy pissing each other off until someone breaks. Random screaming matches over absolutely nothing have happened before. More than once, and only keep becoming more hectic. Moving back into otherworldly beings. Due to Mark's bond with an alternate, a certain figure grew interested in figuring out more about the two. After one major event, a series of unusual circumstances followed suit. Which then led to meeting a theraangel, Xanthan. When their first proper interaction went on, there was nerve-wracking tension. He wasn't sure what to make of them or what his intentions were. A lot of convincing was needed to earn Mark's trust. Managed having a mutual respect as they bonded over certain grievances each had. Later on a different date a bit, Xanthan becomes his guardian angel. Part of a deal made with Him. Solely of this guardianship, they find more things in common and have a deeper understanding of one another. In particular, their connection with art helps them be more open. Slowly Mark views them like a mentor. Maybe even as another father figure. Seeing how he appreciated his longer life experience, he'd seek out advice from him alone on the rare instance. Very few people manage to break down all the walls Xanthan puts up, and Mark was one of them. He proved to be pretty, consistently, insistent in making that guy part of his little family. Speaking of enemies, there's none to directly define as such for Mark. Besides perhaps, some people during his earlier years growing up, and few real family members he's distanced away from. None of them honestly fit such a defining label as "enemy". Yet, that doesn't mean he won't make adversaries in the future.

================================================

((Cesar's bio is yet to be done. Please hold.))

[insertmesoftly]

Reasons To Keep You Here (Yuri x AFAB Immigrant Reader Trying to Get a Visa) Part 2

Part 1: HERE

Yuri dragged his feet as he left his work. This would be the first official meeting between you and him. He had a small pile of candidates he hoped would be enough. He made it to your door, longingly looking at Yor’s beside it, and knocked. He wanted to get this over quick.

… Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t that easy. The first batch, though some looked promising, with further research from an informant, they ended up being crossed out. Every movement of his felt like a chore.

Still, duty called and he’d make it to your apartment without fail. You would open the door and greet him. Sometimes you’d have food prepared. He hesitated to try anything at first, but you got him one day by telling him that Yor had helped.

He hasn’t exactly refused since then… It was, of course, because he considered your feeding him as another part of the deal. And totally not because he liked the things you made. He was already wasting time and money coming all the way over, why not get a meal for his effort?

You wholeheartedly agreed. You always let him know how grateful you were for his help. You know how busy his work makes him, and you know how bad his temperament can get. You don’t want to be on his bad side. You’re always on alert when he visits for ways keep him feeling content. He hasn’t realized it, but it’s worked.

His footsteps don’t drag as much anymore. He stopped complaining about the food needing more of something. You’ve learned and adapted. And as you two got more comfortable around each other…

You’d sometimes talk about things other than the assignment you were on. He knew about your life but… he still found himself asking questions sometimes.

‘How did you learn to make so much?’

You looked back at him eating fried dough with two cheeses and a fried piece of seasoned ham in the middle. You smiled.

‘Mostly from watching my mom. But there was a time when I was pulled in to help a restaurant next door to where I was living.

This… was not on his files. He begins to wonder what other secrets you are unknowingly keeping from him. He finishes his meal and reminds himself that he shouldn’t care.

~

You’ve already been caught by Anya on who your identity is as a cartoonist, though neither you or her have talked about it. Anya knows not to mention that she knows. The second person who knows about your profession, is Yuri. He looked into a bit of your comics just to make sure they were not something that was not in line with the country’s sensibilities. …

All he saw was a regular children’s cartoon with a unique art style. So he stopped looking into them until he caught you on a day where you had a deadline and no idea.

You had been on a roll with the Forger family. They gave you material for little odd things that could happen in a household that were humorous. But you haven’t been visiting as often because of your recent meet ups with Yuri, and now you were panicking.

Yuri walked inside the mess your living room had become, with papers strewn about everywhere and mugs of different teas and coffees all over. You looked worse than usual.

You apologized and told him it would probably be better if he left you alone that day. You couldn’t really concentrate on anything else. You laughed as you confessed you hadn’t even gotten to cook anything for yourself yet.

Yuri’s eyes narrow as he really takes you in. Your hair is all over the place. Your clothing has stains. You look like you’re about to pass out at any moment.

‘You need to eat.’

‘Yeah… I should probably go buy something later-‘

‘NOW.’

He picks up his coat and is back outside. He comes back twenty minutes later with food from a restaurant for the both of you. Despite your concerns over taking up too much of his time, he stays and eats with you. And he asks you what your latest ideas for strips are.

Yuri had it in his head that he could help you decide on one of your already-made strips and that would be that. He’d make it that simple for you; it was just a children’s cartoon strip. There was no need to overthink it if you didn’t land a joke that Sunday!

…. He didn’t account for your lore dumps of all the characters. Or to be shown twenty different strips, all differing in content. The hours pass by. You’re both deeply discussing the motivations of a four-year-old child and her imaginary friend’s psychology. You get into an argument over whether the father character is a good man or not. It’s an emotional roller coaster. He chokes up as he watches you put the last, best idea onto paper finally.

It’s been a long day and you both cheer like goofballs at your finished 4-panel masterpiece. A job well done. Yuri leaves you apartment feeling a bit accomplished, even smiling. He doesn’t realize he never got to inform you of anything new until he’s halfway to his home. He slumps as he continues his walk home, wondering how he got lost in your work.

….. his coworkers notice him reading the cartoon page of the newspaper now whenever he’s on break. One of them has even started talking to Yuri about it.

‘So you’re also a fan?’

‘You… read them, sir?’

‘Yeah! Every Sunday morning with my kids, haha. We like to clip our favorites and paste them into a journal. My daughter loves em.’ The coworker took a newspaper for himself and looked over the newest strip for the second time that day.

‘This week’s strip was pretty sweet, wasn’t it? My little Camila begged her mother to call her friend after she read it. Those two have been pretending to be each other’s imaginary friend. They kept telling each other how they’ll always be together just like the girl in the comic with her friend- WOAH, HEY, SON ARE YOU OK?’

‘I am fine, it’s just seasonal allergies!’

Yuri is so invested now. He’ll be a bit obnoxious asking you what your latest idea is and demanding brainstorms if he doesn’t like it. He’s become like your second manager on top of everything else now.

~

There comes a day Yuri took off from work. He planned on staying home, cooking something simple horrendous for himself, and simply spend the day relaxing. Thanks to your insight, he knew he wouldn’t be able to see Yor, unfortunately, so he resigned himself from treading on the familiar path to your…. Her apartment. He went to pick up ingredients for his favorite childhood dish instead.

When he got out, he was making his way back home when he began faintly hearing your voice. It made him pause.

Was he beginning to go crazy? He whipped his head around but couldn’t see you. He did, however, see two kids standing over a ledge looking down at something and talking. The voice that replied back to them was definitely yours. Yuri sighed as he moved his ingredients around and walked over.

What mischief was this homebody getting into?

He walked in on quite the scene. You were over the ledge and walking through the rocky and muddy shore of the river, digging around without a care. The face he was making was indescribable.

‘Uh oh, we have company.’

‘Get out of here, mister! This doesn’t concern you!’

The two kids got in Yuri’s way and tried to make themselves look bigger to block his view. They were identical boys, older than Anya but still young. They wore clean, pristine clothes and had their hair styled nicely. Yuri wondered why these kids were messing with someone like you.

‘Kris, did you say somethi- OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE YURI!!!’

The embarrassment all over your face. You had been caught. Yuri could only give you a disappointed look that made you sweat.

‘I should be asking YOU the same thing. Why is this bachelorette wanting to get married wading around in the muck while little boys watch?’

You couldn’t be any redder if you tried. You wipe your hands on your overalls, and try stuttering out a reply, but the kids speak up and immediately cut you off.

‘WHAT? Y/N IS GETTING MARRIED?’

‘NO! I FORBID IT!’

One of them began tearing up while the other immediately got mad at Yuri. He looked back at his crying brother, then at the adult man. ‘YOU CAN’T HAVE Y/N! TELL HIM!’ He moved to face you, face red with fury and he stamped his feet.

‘TELL HIM YOU CAN’T MARRY HIM! DAD SAID YOU WOULD NEVER CUT IT AS A WIFE ANYWAYS!’

The sudden attack on your pride left you speechless and made Yuri unexpectedly have to hold in his laughter.

‘KRIS! THAT’S-‘

‘YOU’RE LAZY, UGLY AND UNDESH-UN-deshire-‘

The other kid chimed in with a sob.

‘UNDESIRABLE!’

‘YEAH! YOU CAN’T MARRY ANYONE! YOU HAVE TO COME BACK HOME!’

You were wrong. You were so wrong. You could get so much more embarrassed. You began shaking from the shame and Yuri was not containing his laughter anymore, clutching his bags and hiding his face as he let it all out.

‘ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY, YURI, SHUT UP!’ You climbed the ledge and moved right over to the kids, handing them a toy plane that was battered but not broken.

‘I’m NOT getting married to him! He’s just a friend! ... And I couldn’t find the soldier, I’m sorry.’

The boys looked at their plane, then back at the shore over the ledge. They gave a salute.

‘We lost another one.’

‘Rest in Peace, Charlie.’

Yuri had seen enough. He finally calmed down, but his smile was still evident.

‘These are your brothers?’

‘Yeah.’ You moved to be beside him. ‘I know, we don’t look… anything alike. We uh… have different fathers.’

… right. Yuri had read about your family. He looked over the boys who were cautiously looking back at him. They looked like kittens ready to fight.

‘So you have friends now?’

‘How come we’ve never seen him before?!’

‘He looks shifty…’

… they were funny at first but it was clear now Yuri would not get along with them. His face hardened back to a familiar glare that spooked the kids. You stepped in.

‘I assure you two, Yuri is very trustworthy. He works in the government offices! That’s one of the most respectable jobs anyone could hope to have!’

The kids didn’t look convinced and moved to be closer to you. Yuri didn’t mind. He supposed it was time for him to go anyways.

‘Since I know now that this situation is… under control. I think I’ll take my leave now.’

‘Oh- uh, sure but, do you need any help with your groceries?’

‘I can manage-‘

His response was interrupted by the sibling’s screams. They didn’t want you to go with him, and they were holding onto your clothing as you had stepped up to help Yuri. They wanted you to stay talking to them. Your eyebrows furrowed and you smiled, a bit sadly.

‘I’m sorry, you two, but you should really get going. We all know how mom gets when you’re late coming home.’

‘But we haven’t seen you in forever!’

‘You never visit!!’

You made a pained expression. It didn’t go unnoticed by Yuri.

You crouched to be on their level, and you held both their hands. You promised to try to visit them soon. The kids didn’t believe you, but you insisted. At their crying, you gave them a hug and told them that you loved them. That you missed them every day. Shakily… they repeated it back.

They clung to you and made you pinkie swear to let them see you again soon.

The kids went off a little ways after, and it left the two adults alone. You turned back to Yuri, face trying to smile like normal, and asked him again if you could help him bring his food to his place. Yuri narrowed his eyes at you.

‘You’re going to get married.’

‘Yes? And?’

‘…. You’re going to see them there, right?’

The thought of it struck you, and made you laugh. ‘Maybe… we’ll see if there’s enough time for a ceremony.’

You were trying to be optimistic. Yuri knew there probably wouldn’t be, but the image was… enough for now. He took in a breath and handed you a bag.

‘Come on. Follow me.’

He invited you to his home for a change and tried giving you some of his cooking.

It was terrible. But you stomached it because this was Yuri’s attempt at cheering you up.

~

Looking for candidates is an ongoing trial. They all largely suck, and you’ve shut them all down except… one of them is looking like the best. He has a good job, he’s your age, he seems like a good guy and on top of all that… he’s also good looking!

Just in time, too. The deadline for the law was still being decided but… it was looking like it’d be close. Too close. This could be your last chance.

Yuri tells you about it. You see his picture and nod along to the things Yuri has pointed out. Though not as excited about it as he hoped you’d be, he still takes you agreeing to see him as a victory. Now came the harder part.

Yuri is nervous with figuring out how to convince him into giving you a shot, but everything seemed to work itself out when Yuri tried finding him in a café he frequented and…. Awkwardly casually beginning a chat with him. He strung along their conversation from ‘what makes a good coffee’ to ‘wanting to find a good wife to marry and make it for you every morning’ like a poet that lost his credibility. He posed as your friend, and was clear about his intent to set you two up on a date tomorrow. Despite his lackluster performance, the man took a look at your photo and agreed with a laugh. It was like a miracle had occurred for Yuri.

This was PERFECT!

He orders you to dress up in your best. He’s made reservations somewhere good. It’s all up to you now! He won’t meddle in this any longer. He’s done his job. You agree he has and thank him for his help. You say you can take it from here.

So, he left your apartment without worry. Everything was right on track! You would dress nicely. You two would have a nice talk. The atmosphere in the restaurant would be lovely…

… this was it, wasn’t it?

No more of your daily cooking. No more brainstorms. No more visits. Sure… Yuri concedes he may… think you’re a friend worth checking up on but…

What kind of husband would allow their wife to have another man visit them?

Yuri got ready for bed, feeling as if he was losing something. His stomach was in knots over tomorrow.

~

This weekend.

Yuri got the confirmation on the date the new law would pass. It would be this weekend.

Despite his protests to himself all day, this new information won over his initial promise to stay out of the date. He dressed himself up and called the restaurant. Pulled some strings and made it to his reservation in, what he was hoping was the middle of your date. He knew where you were immediately, and not just because he plotted where you’d sit.

Your get up… was not up to this place’s standards. Yuri had a hand to his temple as he sat down across the room and glared at you. There shouldn’t be a next time, but if there is… he’ll smother you into a dress. You both had been served your food, at least, but though the man was eagerly eating and talking, you… hadn’t touched your food. And you weren't talking. You had on the face you used to make around Yuri when you both first met. It was the fake, pained smile.

Something was wrong.

Yuri tried calming his nerves as a waiter came to ask him what he’d like to drink. You were probably just nervous still. He was considering ordering you some alcohol to loosen you up when a loud smacking noise interrupted all chatter.

You had slapped your candidate. The restaurant was aghast.

Yuri asked for a bottle of their strongest alcohol to go.

~

He caught you on your way out, bottle in hand, and walked you home. You didn’t even question why he was there, you had already suspected his meddling as you’ve come to know how much he loves it. You merely take the bottle and open it. So begins your night drinking with Yuri.

You tell him, plain and frankly before he can ask what happened, that the man wasn’t a good person and Yuri… accepts it at first. Tries to. One thing at a time. First, he’s commenting on the ways you failed even before getting to the restaurant until you’re both in your home.

You invite him in just as he finished explaining the etiquette of how to sit properly. Without slouching. Then you both sat in your couch, and he asked you again to explain what was so bad about the man. You laugh bitterly as you go to a cabinet to get another drink, wine this time. You offer him some. After you’ve both been poured a glass, you finally explain.

You’re slurring your words a bit but your infuriation still keeps your memory fresh. You are laying all the man's faults down, things that were obvious to you, but a drunken Yuri is not particularly letting himself be convinced. It becomes obvious the more you go on that he doesn’t actually believe you.

And this is confirmed as he stops you to… begin calling you picky. He thinks you’re dragging out a process that could’ve been infinitely simpler if you just SETTLED instead of insisting on waiting for your prince charming. You have responsibilities. You have family. Why are you focusing on such trivial details?

‘It’s like you don’t really want to get married! Isn’t the most important thing that you stay-‘

He is attacked by a pillow. He drops his drink. He’s in shock as it slips from his face, ready to yell at you.

‘WHAT THE HELL?!’

‘OF COURSE I'M NOT WAITING FOR MY PRINCE CHARMING!’

‘WELL, YOU’RE ACTING LIKE YOU ARE! WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT THAT GUY? SO HE WAS A LITTLE BRASH? THIS IS A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE. WHY WOULD HIS PERSONALITY-‘

‘I KNOW HIS TYPE.’ You cut him off. You’re crying. He’s staring.

‘The way he talked about me… the way he ogled me… he is NOT a good man! I never ASKED you for someone with good looks. I never said anything about love. I JUST WANT SOMEONE WHO WILL RESPECT ME!’

Yuri… narrows his eyes. He doesn’t really get it. He feels more sober now and is in a huff and gets up, too annoyed to continue the conversation.

‘Whatever. Then we’re back to square one and the law will be in place this weekend.’

You look at him with wide eyes. That soon? Yuri grunts as he picks up his things.

‘I’ll be back tomorrow with more candidates. No more of your prerequisites. We are going to look at ANYONE we can.’

Your mouth is glued shut. You can only curl up and stare miserably at the spilled alcohol on the floor as he leaves.

~

Yuri was planning on just another day at work. He was going to put his entire focus into it! Let out all his emotions by being productive! … He wasn’t counting on them sending him home earlier because he finished his interrogation so fast. The boss gave him a pat on the back and told him to get himself a treat.

Yuri wasn’t one for indulging in things much… but he decided to today. He’s been feeling like he had two jobs because of you. He went inside a bakery on the way to you and ran into the person he least wanted to see. With a bruise in his cheek.

The man sees Yuri and walks straight over to him. Yuri prepares himself for the damage control. It goes down as things usually do.

He’s livid, complaining about what you did. Yuri apologizes.

He recounts how everything about you was not as he said. He apologizes profusely.

The man loses most of his steam by this point and keeps hammering in how disinterested you were in him since the beginning, how he was so kind as to overlook your appearance and your low tone and your weird sense of humor because he knew you were an immigrant. He wanted to give you a chance. Yuri simply nods along, finding all these points valid. Now the man is feeling better.

The man decides… to be kind to Yuri about it. He was just trying to help a friend out. That was admirable of him. With this stroke of good luck, Yuri takes the compliment and offers to pay for the man’s pastry as another apology. The man is smiling now and patting his back as his boss does. Everything has been smoothed over. It was this easy. But-

The man has more to talk about as they wait for their food. He asks Yuri if he ‘has anymore immigrant lady friends.’ Yuri furrows a brow and says that he doesn’t.

‘That’s a shame… I really would like to date a girl from that country.’

‘….. Why?’

The things the man begins to detail make Yuri’s eyes widen. You were right.

This man was not good.

And he was most definitely not allowed to be anywhere near Yor.

There was a commotion in the bakery, as the man received another, harder hit in his other cheek. Yuri did pay for his pastry… which he dropped in his face. He gave the cashier extra money for the disturbance and excused himself. He had more stuff to think about on his walk home. He didn’t visit you that day.

~

He had pictures of all the men he once thought were suitable for you displayed on his floor. They all passed some level of psychological and temperament checks… but if that guy had been holding onto thoughts like those… who was to say any of them were different?

How was he supposed to know? How could he trust in this process anymore? He sat in his couch and groaned in frustration. There were only five more days until the due date. You had to be married in five days.

… there’s really no time. And no more leads. Everything was doomed. You were doomed.

…. Unless….

~

That night was storming. You love the sound of rain and thunder. You wonder if it’ll be the same once you’re gone… You were lost in your melancholy when a harsh knocking made you almost drop your favorite mug. You weren’t expecting anyone… You slowly move to the door to open it.

You are greeted by a drenched, and evil looking Yuri standing way too close to the door.

‘I’m sorry-‘

SLAM.

You’d think you were used to his creepy aura by then but… it was instinct at this point. You sigh, calming yourself down as you open the door again.

‘For the love of everything, Yuri, PLEASE DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!!!!’

‘I CAME TO APOLOGIZE!’

This finally caught your attention. You looked right at his eyes. He was being serious as he went on about how he’s been wrong in his judgment.

He thought you were an immigrant with no value, but his sister and your siblings loved you. He thought you were dumb because of your previous works but you’ve shown time and time again to be handy, creative and intuitive. He thought you were being picky… but he was the one overlooking your needs. For all this… he is sorry.

You blink. An apologetic Yuri. … His face is as cute as Yor described. You can’t help laugh, surprising him.

‘Alright, you’ve apologized. Now come in. You can make it up to me by taking off that coat and telling me of other candidates.’

‘Y/N…’

You drag him inside and close the door. ‘Come on! The coat! You’re soaked… I’ll go bring you a towel. I know we’re in a time-crunch, but you didn’t have to come running for an apology!’

‘Y/N!’

‘Yes yes, sit down while I get you that towel. Do you want a warm drink too? I made something for myself but I’m not sure if you’ll like it-‘

‘Y/N, I think it’s time we stopped looking for your husband.’

You stop. You turn around. He was being apologetic just a second ago… where was he coming with this?

‘Why?’ Your tone is hard. ‘Are you giving up on me?’

‘No…’ Yuri shakes his head and looked away. His expression… was one you hadn’t seen before. ‘I just… thought of a better…. Faster solution.’ He sighed into his hands as he hid his face. You crossed your arms.

‘Oh? And what’s that?’

He took the biggest breath you’ve ever seen him take. And groaned. It was like looking at a child that was told to do his homework.

‘I guess… I’m going to marry you.’

You dropped your mug.

Part 3: Here