#like even when the villainess comics do this

[the-owl-tree]

I know you haven't posted a profile leader of the isekai girls' clan yet, and if you don't have all the details for them ironed out yet (besides Honeypaw and Frostblaze both being the leaders kits) that's all good. But while looking at your latest post about the au, it got me thinking: how do you think the leader feels about 'Honeypaw''s sudden personality change, unnatural (because they're human moves) new fighting style, and tendency to walk on her hind legs? Because I'd imagine even if they weren't particularly close before Honey replaced her, it'd definitely be eyebrow raising to someone who knew her beforehand.

i'll definitely be putting the parents on my to-do list since I have thought of them, mainly because my inspiration is a mix of things that made go oooh yes or pissed me off so badly i stole them JUST to tear them apart in this lol

Honeypaw's relationship with her father, Owlstar, is strained. His relationship with her mother is purely political: he wants an heir, she wanted to join their Clan. In the books (from Frostblaze's perspective), he's written as an aloof but noble cat who can be stern but only because he cares. In the "real" world of the book...he's a standoffish, absent father who cares little about Honeypaw (due to her lack of resemblance to him) and often speaks of his disappointment (despite him having little presence in her life to guide her).

When the real Honeypaw is killed, he is sad and he does grieve...but doesn't stay for the ceremony. When she does come, he's happy! He welcomes her, nuzzles her in greeting, and visits her in the medic's den as she recovers...but it's also stilted, awkward, and suffocating for them both. He says very little and sometimes scolds her for her recklessness (and while in the book this is passed off as him "caring but struggling show it", in practice...it just comes off as apathy to Honey & Honeypaw).

I'd imagine her first few moons of weirdness is him passing it off as a cry for attention until it continues...and not only does she no longer seek his approval, she actively avoids him. Honey would realize his and Honeypaw's relationship is strained pretty early on and, to keep Honeypaw from being in a bad mood and also to avoid having her own father scold her (her body more than her soul), basically stays out of his way.

I can't imagine he'd investigate too much, he's more preoccupied with his successful heir (even if he can't reveal her yet). It's only when Honeypaw continues to poke around, find out more secrets than she's supposed to that he begins to really question what's going on.

Honeypaw's mother, Beesnap, is also different than in her story form. In the book, she's written as a volatile, self-absorbed mother who defends Honeypaw with her fierce temper no matter what her daughter does. When Honey actually meets her? Beesnap is a rogue-born she-cat and her status as truly a member of the Clan is always being questioned. As a result of being isolated and demeaned, she put on a facade of confidence and snootiness, intent on not letting them get to her. When Honeykit was born, her only daughter, she vowed to make sure her child had a better life in the Clan than she'd be given - resulting in her fierce outbursts to defend her child. Owlstar is absent in Honeypaw's life and that only made Beesnap more focused on protecting her.

Beesnap knows something's going on with her kid but doesn't confront her for some reason. She becomes a cat that Honey goes to advice to often when Splashpaw is busy. Eventually I think Honey does try to reveal the truth...but Beesnap probably doesn't take the fact that her beloved daughter's been body snatched very well.

Her unnatural behavior does freak them both out, Beesnap keeps having to whisper for her daughter to stOP WALKING LIKE THAT EVERYONE IS STARING AT YOU-

ty for asking!! i kind of went off topic but your question got me thinking so i ended up rambling lol both of these guys are mainly inspired from how wc and these specific webcomics treat parents and i think that shows

[bmpmp3]

ive mentioned before my like. fascination and incomprehensible attachment to mysterious ambiguously brown man characters in schlocky fantasy romance media marketed towards women and a lot of it is from like, a like. nearly anthropological standpoint as someone heavily interested in orientalism in narrative media from a visual culture and art historical point of view and a part of it is also from being mixed race and ambiguous IRL LOL BUT there is one other angle i havent really touched on thats on my mind a lot. you know that bit we all go through where someone reads something like mediocre and it sticks in their mind more than something well written? the "I COULD FIX THISSSS" curse..... im like this with ambiguously brown characters. holds loosely (LOOSELY) south asian coded love interest from some romance comic #8997485344534984875943 tenderly in my hands..... my brother i know you weren't written with this depth but i know the truth. i know about your complexities as you navigate this fantasy europe as a racialized man. i know your truth

[hoots-the-owl]

PLEASE STOP RECOMMENDING VILLIANESS REBORN ANIMES YOUTUBE PLEASE YOU KNOW THATS MY WEAKNESS

[pruneunfair]

Ranking every manhwa villainess and white lotus I could find.

Keep in mind these are all opinion based.

#22: At the very bottom of the list is Sumin Jeong from Marry my husband

Now, like almost everyone else on this list, Sumin is kept a level that is below the FL Jiwon so she can never best the hero. However unlike the others here, Sumin has not once been shown to be anything other than a dumb and evil bimbo who talks like elmo even before Jiwon regressed, her reasons for wanting everything Jiwon has make no sense and she has no flavor to her, no backstory that makes sense, no real charm since it's lost as soon as possible, all she has going for her is a distinct design.

#21: Charlotte-the villainess maker

Honestly, Charlotte is about as forgettable as the comic she's from. She doesn't do much, just basic bland white lotus tropes over and over. She is portrayed as a sweet heart but she's secretly a jealous vindictive mean girl, she loses everything to the FL because she's too basic for the not-like-other-girls readers, nothing really revolutionary about her, but this could be chalked up to the story shes from canonically being an abysmal mess written by the FL when she was 14, Sorry Charlotte.

#20: Iris Van Conrad-Today the villainess has fun again.

A step up from Sumin when it comes to backstories, still not the greatest but it makes a little more sense. She's more passive aggressive since her actual plots are destoryed in nanoseconds by the plot, she gets dunked on so much I wonder if she's supposed to the Villainess or a discount Meg Griffin. Considering the fact to that Reilynn is pedo coded, Iris is less of the two evils.

#19: Aisha Selir-divorcing my tyrant husband.

Shes okay, But like Charlotte, Aisha isn't very noteworthy, as usual, any attempts she makes to best or outsmart Robelia are met with utter failure, she could be something really great if she were just allowed to make a mark on the plot. Like actually have Alexandros take responsibility instead of blaming her for her existence. Her design before the art shift was pretty enough and I'm pretty sure she's being possessed by a vindictive soul so that might explain why Aisha suddenly became a villain when she's described as being dainty, sweet, and a general damsel and saintess in the story within DMTH.

18: Fonta Magnus:the tyrants only perfumer

Fonta is the type of antagonist that would be adored as a isekaied protagonist. She doesn't really do much though since she gets defeated over and over with the same plan of copying Ariels ideas (how original, no pun intended) I like her though just because her design reminds me of cartoon goth girls, specially Gwen from total drama island.

#17: Benela Verdi- the princesses jewels

I don't care if she seduced Ariannas father or killed her brother, Arianna was out there acting like she wouldn't do the same just to get with a sexy man. Benela may suffer from the same problems every other villainess does but if ranked them based on that then almost all of them would be on the bottom. This image of her drinking her stress away is accurate to how I felt reading this one.

#16: Claudine von Brandt-Cry or better yet beg

I absolutely adore Claudine and she's not really a villain but unfortunately the narrative says she's a so she'll have to count. It's why she's this low since she's just a woman who gets in the way of the main ship

As you can probably guess, her only crimes are being condescending to Layla and valuing superficial values such as wealth and status, crimes that somehow make her worse than Matthias in the narratives eyes. Justice for my girl Claudine ✊️

now we are moving up to the middle tier

#15: Diana-for my derelict favorite

This girl has more protagonist material then Hestia ever will. Sorry but Hestias entire thing is just being a rich girlboss, simping for Cael and damning any woman who broke his heart including Diana, who is the saintess that opposes murder, Wow! Who would have guessed that the saintess woman wouldn't endorse literal murder! Could she have communicated better? Yes, was she always in the right? Hell no. But she's got more character in her pinky toe then everyone else in their entire bodies to I salute to her.

#14: Irene/Aileen Hascator- I didn't mean to seduce the male lead

I have a weird relationship with her. One minute I'm impressed because she actually does manipulation pretty well at first with making the lives of those who won't swear loyalty her unbearable in very smart ways, she'll buy all her friends expensive dresses so she can stand out in a simpler one, she'll defend the black sheep and make her into her friend to keep up her sweetheart facade, unfortunately it's all so she can get with a boy where she goes nuts on anyone who gets near him.

#13: Freya van Furiana- how to get my husband on my side

I really loved this manhwa, almost all of the characters are complex and 3 dimensional with a great commentary on abuse, ED, and family dynamics, with that said I was a little disappointed seeing Freya as another basic white lotus who only wants Izek for herself, it won't take much even a little more character traits would help because Freya isn't just some random girl who became the ogfl, she was the childhood friend of Izek and Ellen, so we should've gotten to see a little more too her then what we got

#12: Mielle Roscente- the villainess turns the hourglass.

Beautiful design, basic but rather solid goals, a charming personality, Mielle has all of that in the bag. She secretly wants Aria and her mother out of her life since they aren't of noble blood (before the terrible Arias a noble plot twist) and she's really entertaining. However I'll never understand how she managed to destroy Aria in the first timeline if she's such an idiot now. The first timeline also takes the blame off of Arias shitty actions with "Mielle tricked her into being evil!" It ruins the charm since Aria, as a villainess should be allowed to suffer the consequences while not wanting to quit.. since you know, she's not meant to be a good person.

#11: Isabella de Mare-sister I am the queen in this life

NOT YOU!

THIS is the Isabella I'm talking about

Absolute genius, she knows that Ceasre is a bastard and not just in the literal sense, she doesn't even love him and just wants that sweet sweet power and wealth. Fooled Ariande for years that she was on her side and as a bonus she can easily say she wanted revenge for Alfonso to the public if they ever found out she was behind it all. But the best part about first timeline Isabella is her villain monolog that women mean nothing to men, putting your life in their hands is a fatal mistake and if you want to make it to the top, you gotta crush the opponents. But alas we never see this version of Isabella after Ariande goes back in time

Higher tier now, the best of the best who managed to make it this far

#10: Rhyse/Lise Sinclair- not your typical reincarnation story

Yeah shes technically being controlled by the author or hell maybe she is the author I have yet to finish this one but for once we get a comic that doesn't immediately pit two women against eachother and actually gives a solid reason for her to be at odds with Edith. When something doesn't go her way, Rhyse doesn't throw a fit and turn on the water works no no no. She stands there, awkwardly, almost like the real Rhyse is wondering why she feels so jealous and angry with Edith for stealing the spotlight. She's incredibly ominous too when that purple mist surrounds her to force the other characters back into place. All while she's making friends with Edith in a possibly geninue friendship.

#9: Isis Frederick- the villainess reverses the hourglass

I'm pretty sure most of us can agree she's the real villain of TVRTHG since she basically started and encouraged the whole operation to begin with from afar, the puppeteer if you will. Killer design, a great fear factor and an evil sister done better. Wish she had more time to shine.

#8: Diane Poitier- I abdicate my title as empress

What already sets her apart from other evil concubines is that she was there before Adelaide so her reasons for being upset that another woman is showing up to marry the Emperor is reasonable, obviously her actions aren't but I still felt bad for her since no one in that palace gave a damn about her, Diane got ruthlessly belittled and ignored for not being useful to their liking or simply being too desperate and when Adelaide tries to not make an enemy out of her, Diane is looking for anyone to direct her anger on but the redemption arc as short as it is, makes up for it.

#7: Leila- villains are destined to die

My favorite ogfl turned villain. Leila is pure evil no questions asked. She steals the body of Yvonne which played a part in taking the latters reputation to a degree in the fandom and starts brainwashing everyone around her. That's what makes her so terrifying, one minute you could be at your highest and you feel like you rule the world, and next minute it all comes crashing down when the face of your long lost sibling arrives with fake tears in her eyes, ready to destroy everything you hold dear.

#6: Soleia Elard- seducing the villains father

I can't believe I'm saying this but a classic black magic witch is a unique villain in the manhwa world. During her introduction she's already causing mayhem by trying to kill Yerenica with black magic, and at first you'd think she's another "I want my hubbies affection!" Chick but no, she just wants to marry Erudian to have his child and use said child to avenge her family and destroy everything, characters are all frightened by her because she actually gets shit done instead of failing every minute of the day, and even after all that, she's allowed the privilege of life by getting a redemption arc.

#5: Cosette Weinberg- I was the real one.

She deserved so much better!! 😭 Cosette, my baby, you were set up to be such an amazing villain with high intelligence and well thought out plans, why did they have to give you the good old plot induced lobotomy! Girly wasn't just smart but there were actually times I could get behind Cosette. When Keira gave a maid 100 lashes after she insulted and wished death on Keira, it was Cosette who took advantage of an actual truth with only a little bit of exaggeration, they were both evil but only one of them was rightfully called out for it. Honestly just read the novel, the manhwa did it dirty.

#4: Marianne Edenverre- into the light again.

Nah someone get this baby to a church and give her the aggressive baptism 10 times over, I'll always be wondering how the hell did that 10 year old get her hands on a demon in the first place, the fact that the family never found her hiding behind a door or closet staring into their soul like a paralysis demon is surprising cause I imagine she would do that and be like "it's just me sillies, I would never mean to scare you 😛" she's a well written villainess who I wish would have a little bit more screentime but her powers and what she can do honestly confuses me (like that whole body-swap thing)

Final 3 everybody, you ready for this?

#🥉: the 3rd place medal goes to Dodolea Castor from My in laws are obsessed with me

Another real villainess, putting everyone off guard with her initial gacha life brat persona only to be hit in the face with disturbing levels of cruelty that can only match a psychopath, she looks straight out of an uncanny mr incredible meme with that light skin stare shes got. Straight up laughs at Therdeos trauma while being well aware that she tried to SA him and how it affected the poor guy and later proceeds to attempt to kill and later kidnaps his wife. There's no remorse, no regrets, just the souls of innocents behind those huge eyes.

#🥈 : the second place medal goes to Verta Alberhart from depths of malice.

She isn't even the antagonist, no that's the protagonist! And honestly, the only white lotus in the main lead spot I've ever read so far. And while she has a messed up backstory that explains why she's so bitter, she still full on embraces it. Vertas way of being granted a second chance isn't even because of some goddess or divine power, she just snatches the body of a suicidal noblewoman and wreaks havoc on all of the disgusting noblemen in her path. She cries on the court trial of her fiances murder while secretly laughing knowing she set the whole thing up and slowly ruins the life of anyone who fucked around and found out.

At long last, we reached #🏅, and the crown goes to none other than...

Rashta Ishka from the remarried empress!

Hear me out now, this isn't just me being biased. Rashta earns first place because even though she is rendered an idiot who's only use is being worse so everyone else can look good, she still managed to do something unfathomable. She earned the respect of a fandom that initially hated her with all the fiber of their being and now she has a growing fanbase of real people, not fictional characters, actual fans. People are literally turning on one of the most popular manhwas that started it all for its treatment of Rashta (because who would guess that people are uncomfortable with the fact that a former slave is the ultimate evil and not the guy who tortures people just for shit talking the FL) and even though there is still a big part of the fandom who despises her, she still lives in everyone's head rent free. The trashta meme is more well known than Navier as a character and her character arc will always be superior and far more interesting than everything else in the story, after all remarried empress did start to decline after her death.

Jesus christ this took so long, I had to do so much rereading and fact checking but it was worth it.

[throwaway-yandere]

Alone Together (Yandere Modern Ex-Idol!Cyno/Reader)

Mother of Klee, Alice's note: Oof... I am... So sorry about this, solitary anon... You understand that there are no hard feelings, right?... Right. I'm glad to hear that. Keep your chin up, okay kid?

Yandere 1k idol genshin event

--------

You didn’t get the job.

The weight of the world rests on your shoulders.

You need to cry. But not now; you already entered the first store you found inside the mall. You are unable to concentrate on anything because you are SURE that if you do, you will wind up kneeling on the floor. You could have gone home and fall asleep—you WANTED to do that—but the enveloping silence would have accentuated the noticeable loneliness that greets you each time you enter your apartment. It's preferable to stroll through a moderately busy area, although standing in a comic book shop didn't accomplish much.

You picked up a random book.

They said you weren’t accepted because your hearing wasn't great, that you have the talent but it’s up to the CEO's criteria– these are only a few of the things that you want to scream out of your system. What put the final nail in the coffin was hearing people talk about their recruits. One of them was a scholar or sage who landed a job as Childe from ADDICKTZ’s producer. How can you even compete with that? You couldn't let your pet fish hear your pathetic sulking– it is not as if your friend could reach out and comfort you anyways. Hah… "friend." 

It's not like you have communication problems; you can even steer talks like a well-oiled machine if you want to. It's just that being disqualified out of the 22 participants hurts since you detested feeling left out. 

Once upon a time, these emotions pass without much difficulty, but adulthood has a very unique way of bringing your lack of companionship to the forefront of your mind. Aside from your pet fish, you were positive you had many friends. "Had" is the common verb you use to associate with that word. You've had people come and go every year or month since you were a young child so there is a pattern that you have come to recognize. For a few months, you would hyperfixate on a relationship with someone who shares your interests before they start to drift away with lame justifications like being busy or, worse, moving out. You never cry whenever this occurs since you have no reason to.

They never stay in your life long enough for you to care, therefore you've never pleaded with them to stay. They always cross the other side of the fence while you remained a hackneyed outsider.

You admit it: you’re a people pleaser and you ended up adapting to different personalities so much that you no longer know what YOU enjoy deep down. What you want in a "true friend".

Is that it?... Is that your personality, your character?

Is that the barebones of your most authentic identity?

You felt your chest restrict itself.

God, if that's the case, why does it sound so empty? Why does it feel so hollow after you've done everything to earn EVERYONE'S love?

It’s frustrating how much influence others have on you.

You smiled even for those pettily undeserving of kindness, you croaked for those who confided their pain for your ears alone, you were nice to retail workers, you gave poor men food, ALWAYS the first to help. You were the ideal citizen society was looking for.

But how come when you ask for something, it’s never received?

Where is it?

Where is the karma?!

Forget all the notions of acting like a well-put together person, this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. You need something to hold. You need someone to hold you. 

You clenched the book even more. Shit. You might have to buy this ridiculous manga now since you forgot to trim your nails, but you can't think clearly. Why on earth do you have to pay $5 for this crap?! You don’t even like The Knight Tames The Villainess. You favor long, plot-driven series over inexpensive harlequin-inspired novels like this one. You don’t even like Otome Isekais like this. 

You don’t even…

“Ngh…” A nearly inaudible sob escaped your lips.

Such a minor inconvenience allowed you to cry soundlessly.

"What do you call a jackal that's new to comics?"

You turned around, biting your lip.

There was an albino man wearing a MangaMatra uniform in front of you. Unlike the other staff member, he wore an orange peculiar scarf and sunglasses indoors. The stranger watches you with an impervious resting face, but you're more intrigued by his appearance rather than his out-of-nowhere question. He has the look of a man who has experienced most landmarks of his life, tethered by both bitter and sweet memories. But you mostly assumed he was the manager based on the crow's feet that littered near his eyebags. 

"He's Anubis." The man said dryly.

Slowly, your face cleared. Your thoughts are barely cohesive as you attempted to form a conversation-stopping reply, anything that could get you out of whatever he’s trying to do, but you’re too baffled to know what to do next.

… He's what?

"Did you get it? Allow me to explain. Anubis is a jackal and the word sounds hilariously similar to the phrase a newbie.” He droned on, his face still stiff. “It’s a good joke, right?”

...

Was that a joke? That… That was a joke, right? There’s no way it isn’t. It was just a bad one. Through the haze of the emotional pain you’re currently forced to deal with, surely he can at least understand that this isn’t a normal approach to befriending someone.

You gave him a forced smile. Deep down, you felt grotesque to yourself. This was not you smiling. This was a stranger. 

“... Y-Yes. Yes, it is.”

“I’m glad you think so too. Want to hear another one?”

“I’m fine, thanks–”

“No, no you’re not.”

Just who is this guy?

You reeled back, closing your eyes exasperatedly. "I'm sorry but I don't need you to tell me how I feel–"

"You're shaking." He said. "Your shoulders are stiff but your lips are trembling. You're emotionally unstable and you need someone to talk to. I am usually the... silent type but I'll be willing to help you sort out your mental distress."

Unlike his futile jokes, this approach reacquainted you back to reality. You roused a little in each heartbeat, yet not completely grounded by his words. 

“Sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself.” 

He removed his sunglasses.

Your heart dropped.

“I’m Cyno, I’m the founder of MangaMatra and the manager of the branch we’re in right now.”

“Y-You’re Cyno! Cyno of Vulpus Aureus.”

Undoubtedly, their name is odd for an idol duo, and the meaning behind it was equally illogical. The musical preferences of this age were established by both Tighnari and Cyno's equal efforts, and they also revived 80s tunes without a hitch. Cyno was resplendently breathtaking when he owned the stage as the “Judicator” of the idol world. It’s no wonder most teenagers didn’t act normal whenever their name is uttered but the last pages of their Wikipedia page were more unhinged.

When "VA" announced their separation, there wasn't a single dry eye in the crowd. People were similarly shocked when Cyno revealed that he hasn't gotten a paycheck since they debuted because of the costs of his idol training. While some were impressed that he was able to leave a loan shark-like organization, others couldn't help but selfishly think Cyno should have just sucked it up. His former partner, Tighnari, did not receive the same treatment. As one of Teyvat Production's music composers, Tighnari continued to work in the idol business, keeping his name inscribed in pure gold.

The world moved on, and you’ve almost forgotten him too.

Cyno favored you with a warm smile that faded just as quickly as your excitement. He tittered as he made a sideway glance at your phone. In turn, you shook your head. Cyno understood that you wouldn't ask him for a picture based on that minuscule exchange alone.

“Umm… I was a fan.”

“Happy to hear it.” Cyno nodded. “But this conversation is not about me, it’s you.”

He took the book off your hand and placed it back on the shelf, his trained eyes not looking away from you.

"I understand what you're feeling. No matter how many compliments you get, there's a quiet but impactful intrusive thought that makes you ignore those for the things that remind you of the flaws you make up in your mind. It's not a pleasant experience and it's something all of us will have to live with."

Those words came from the heart. Cyno's gaze drifted away, staring at something intangible. "And it's a burden some of us might have to carry forever if left in solitude, but you don't have to belong in that category."

He smiled.

“So, why don’t you tell me every detail as to what fated you to enter my store? There will be no judgment this time, I am all ears.”

—------

It’s been months since your run-in with the idol. A surreal experience, it was, but what followed was remarkably natural. Book recommendations turned into live readings turned into playing tabletop games with brand new decks at his favorite coffee place. Sometimes you wondered if Cyno’s tired of you clumsily inviting him to every nerdy event you know about, but the way he lights up leads you to believe he finds your presence as fun as you do his.

The ex-idol turned manga shop owner became an important person to you beyond the old parasocial relationship of a celebrity and fan. There was not an awkward gap between you two.

You found a friend. 

At the beginning of your platonic relationship, you used to be a bit paranoid of Cyno’s quiet demeanor since you couldn’t read what was on his mind, Lately, you seem to understand his silence and he seems to understand you. 

And that was everything you could ever ask for. 

“What was that call just earlier?” You asked, but you didn’t dare snoop into what was on his screen.

He had a rather lengthy phone call earlier as you were picking another book to read on his shelf. Unluckily for you, you don’t hear all that well so you could barely make out any snippets of what he had said except for a single name.

Cyno half-shrugged. “Nothing serious.”

“You seemed annoyed at Tighnari.”

“I was just notified that I received something.” A threat.

“Oh? A gift?”

"Gifts?..." Cyno grimaced. "Sorry– I'd rather not think about that."

"Why–" You stopped yourself immediately. "Wait, never mind, I think I understand–"

"Last fanmails I received were of love letters written in blood and a clumsily taxidermied fox and jackal. That blood is presumably from the animals based on Dottore's DNA samplings." There’s a dark tone as he speaks Dottore’s name, and you know you’re not ready to unpack all that.

"R-Right." Your throat dried up. You're such an idiot. You can't believe you forgot about that. That incident was such a big eye-opener in the idol industry regarding stalker fans. 

The idol industry may be a trove of wonderful content but it is also home to the obsessed and unexplainably cruel.

"Hence, I'd rather not remind myself of fan gifts." Cyno closed his eyes. "It sours my mood."

“T-Then what did you receive?” You tilted your head. “Wait, sorry, I just realized I’m prying too much.”

“Just…” 

Cyno is an honest man. Too honest, in fact, that he almost couldn’t lie by omission.

Almost.

“Just some unfinished business from Teyvat Productions.”

“Is it my business or yours?”

His eyes widened.

For the first time in weeks, you have caught him off guard. 

“It’s…” He shook his head, sighing. “It’s mine.”

“Oh,” you muttered. “O-Of course it’d be yours. I don’t know why I even thought someone they didn’t even hire would get a notif for something.”

Cyno chuckled softly. 

He seemed to have thought that what you said was funny, but you can’t put a finger as to why.

"You remind me of something Tighnari loved to say."

You weakly met his gaze and laughed. "And that is?"

He gently put his hand above yours, his auburn eyes peeking into yours underneath his white eyelashes softly.

"Never underestimate an outsider." He said. "People like you– people like us are not as unfortunate as we may seem. Unlike the staff inside the industry, we are more likely to see the bigger picture, wouldn't you agree?"

"... I think I get your point, but I don't necessarily agree." 

Cyno exhaled, his shoulders deflating. 

It's okay if you do not see the truth in his words.

When Cyno decides on something, he's unlikely to change his mind. Little by little, he'll make you see that you're wonderful even when stripped away of some occupational title like him.

You'll see his perspective eventually.

And you'll thank him once the day comes.

—-------

“I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to say at all, you big lummox!”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“You’re really going to sabotage (Y/n)’s career?! I just told you– they could be my new assistant, damn it. And for what, exactly? Even Alice is vouching for their recruitment. They just made a mistake, that’s all! Here I thought you were SUUUCH a caring friend, so why–”

“It’s because I care that I’m not letting them get close to Teyvat Productions ever again. You know the horrors of the idol industry as much as I do, Tigh. Likely even more.”

“...”

“...”

“... Do you still dream about it? Dottore’s experiments, those letters?”

“I do.”

“... *sigh* How can I even counter your argument when you’re always so painfully earnest?”

“You know why.” Cyno became like this for a reason.

“... What now. What do you want me to do with this letter of recommendation?”

“Burn it.”

“...”

“Tighnari, they’re the happiest when they’re with me.”

“... Cyno, you’re a broken man.”

“I know.”

Cyno peeked out the corner of his eye as he watched you pick up a new book in the romance section.

A silly grin made its way onto Cyno’s face subconsciously. 

“But that no longer matters now that I found someone I can be alone together with.”

Ansytea: Thank you so much for joining the idol event, solitary anon!!! <3

[thevindicativevordan]

Any thoughts on minor Superman villainess La Encantadora? Felt like she had potential that was unfortunately never realized.

Biggest problem with her type of character is that it doesn't work when the hero is already married.

A "Catwoman/Black Cat" for Superman is a concept I have no problem with, but they introduced her after he and Lois had exchanged vows. A flirtatious femme fatale who never has a serious chance of getting with the hero renders the entire concept moot. People like Black Cat and Catwoman because the heroes respond to their flirting and are attracted to them. Selina and Felicia toy with Bruce and Peter in a way that exasperates those two but also is "fun". DC was never going to have Superman cheat on his wife, thus he was never going to return the attraction, and teasing the possibility only makes him look like an asshole. Not even touching how Post Crisis Clark always came across as Superdad even before Jon, and was probably in his 30s, whereas Lourdes looks like she's barely legal, even with her cartoonishly large breasts. Encantadora was a character who could only have ever been created in the Y2K era when comics started becoming excessively sexualized alongside the ultraviolent trend that was in full swing.

Do I think she could work in the Absolute Universe? Totally. Obviously she needs a name change (Enchantress is already taken by two better known characters) and maybe a costume redesign, but in the AU this character makes a lot more sense. Superman isn't married and furthermore he's not a beloved hero who has billionaire friends he can hit up for a loan to set Lourdes and her baby brother up with a better life. He can't let them live at the Fortress and find them good jobs, because he has no Fortress and he's an outlaw himself. Absolute Superman can't easily solve monetary problems, and that means he could actually have that Catwoman/Black Cat relationship with her.

Characterize Lourdes as someone who cares first and foremost about taking care of herself and her brother. Her targets are mostly the rich whom she scams with the help of her magic amulet, and she never targets the poor. Play up her sympathetic situation and have Superman empathize with her actions. Selfishly she often goes beyond fulfilling her needs to indulge in her desires for wealth and comfort, and that's where Superman has a problem. Robbing the rich is one thing - seeking to join the rich is another. Superman wouldn't let her go down that road because he can see her becoming exactly like the people she robs, another entitled rich sociopath who can never fill the hole in her life with material gifts and always wants more.

Let that be the tension between the two: Absolute Superman fights to change the status quo for everyone whereas Lourdes only wants to change things for herself and her loved ones. On one hand it's Superman idealism alongside his physical attributes that make him appealing. Yet on the other she really wants that designer hand purse and sports car...

[delyth-thomas-art]

Tired Webcomic Creator Noises

Gags … ah yes lets make art into mindless content spat out by Ai cos we've been literally killing creators with inhumane workloads to spit out as many episodes as possible for mindless consumption.

I make my comics with passion and love of the craft! I have a degree in Comics, I spent years...years learning, practising, experimenting, adapting. I recall the days where you may get a page a week, or a few at the start of the month back in the 2000s era of self hosted webcomics and smackjeeves. (Rant below)

I've had to learn how the whole scrolling format worked to adapt to where all the readers had gone to, having been taught the traditional print page formats. And now cos its suddenly a massive money maker for these few hosts and they've pushed creators to the brink with the sheer volume they want pumped out that of course they want to use AI.

But it will speed up colouring! I have multiple tools available by the software I use and made by the wonderful people who love creating that colouring isn't that much of a chore, Its my fav part honestly. And its also a job sector within comics, colourists are skilled artists and this is another way to trim the fat, to pocket more money and keep churning out the 5th millionth villainess story.

Yes I am in most views a tiny creator, I haven't even broken their 1000 sub goal to even try applying for ad rev in the near 5 ish years on webtoon. But what I make I love, I spend hours researching folklore, scripting, drafting the whole kabudle like many other creators. And other than the kind supporters on my Patreon and Ko-fi I don't make much from the hours, days, weeks I pour into what I make. But at least I know its made with my own hands. That its made with love as corny as that sounds.

Ai is creeping its tentacles into everything, now ethically trained ai tools to help smaller creators would be fine. Most creators already rely on 3d tools to speed up things like backgrounds for webcomics. But when we don't know what its trained on, and is marketed wholesale as something anyone can use to make "content" is where it gets insidious. I am all for anyone with the desire to create and tell a story to go out there and do so, whether a beginner or a master. Part of the joy of a long running webcomic is seeing the artist grow both artistically and literary. But with ai it will be all one homogenous style, a copy of what ever is the hot thing. We already have amazon stuffed to the teeth with ai generated books, videos, merch and more all to be sold in some get rich quick manner. (need I point at the Willy's Wonderland incident). Youtube videos being spat out by faceless accounts stealing and regurgitating content at the speed no human video making team can easily match without cutting out quality or fact checking.

It is tiring. Creatives as a whole are treated poorly for decades, and now with the rapid late stage capitalism, website /social media enshitification and the blind headlong rush into the next big money making thing (watches the nft crash). I can't deny Covid sped this up, as everyone was locked inside and turned to what we creators made for comfort. But that content eating boom, lead to more demand, faster output and tighter budgets. We are seeing journalists being cut, game designers in their thousands and recently Dreamworks cutting a bunch and pushing to make their Robot film come out sooner due to public demands.

Skilled creatives are being treated like disposable fast food restaurant employees. Used til they burn out, get injured and even die! And then are simply replaced.

I've never been a creator with huge ambitions to work at places like DC, Marvel or Top Cow. I simply wished to create and share stories with the world, to bring smiles, to create art that evokes emotions, inspires others to look around themselves and create too.

Art is for everyone. You just need to take that scary jump, there is a whole array of welcoming communities willing to teach and share. I wouldn't have improved so much without the kindness of the webcomic groups I've discovered and learnt from. Everyone is always learning, and there no shame in not knowing how to do a thing. Even I started with the cheesy how to draw books as a kid and made my own pokemon and digimon.

Don't let the world treat your art as content. It is "ART" as much as what's kept in the louvre is seen as art, so is that little stick man doodle on a postit.

So Try something new, try a new material, a new style.

And support the artists you enjoy, tip their Ko-Fi, pledge to their Patreon, buy a sticker or print. Share their posts and tell them what you love about what they make.

Don't let machines steal away the art in HEART.

[ladyloveandjustice]

So...when Anifem had a question about good mcs of Villainess isekai stories, I mentioned Melissa from Beware the Villainess among others (Claire was #1 ofc) and my comment got picked, yay.

So I was thinking about how since my liveblog I never finished beware the villainess, and since it's been a year since I was commissioned for it, it was unlikely to be picked up again and I should go ahead and finish this myself...

but what popped up when I was searching for it was THIS

lmao ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I. The comic literally shat all over it's most interesting storyline and character. Yuri being forced to relive all these storylines where she's forced into the damsel in distress role by the author (my guess was correct I guess) was super cool and intriguing! and apparently they just...didn't do anything with it???

And honestly, I knew the author clearly preferred Nine in all his submissive blandness and would probably go with him as the love interest, but holy shit, she doesn't even get to confess to Melissa? She's one of the only ones that doesn't get a partner? She's stuck pining after an oblivious straight woman with a bf for the rest of her life, the fate lesbians are always condemned to dk;akdlsa;f why did I expect anything else. Why did I believe a story wouldn't shit all over it's lesbian character just because it acted like it was "feminist".

Gotta love how BtV set itself up as the awesome critique of sexist tropes in romances only to apparently do the EXACT THING it was critiquing, and toss an interesting female character aside for a bland male lead. The story acted like it was all about freeing Yuri from the narrative, only for her to turn into a classical tragic pining lesbian archetype that the narrative still didn't care about.

Also I'm glad the people in this thread agreed Nine was bland, I thought those feeling were just my lesbian bias but apparently I was valid.

Definitely glad we stopped the liveblog where we did! I guess I won't bother reading the rest!

[girlymatsu]

is there any more lore surrounding villainess!erina? because i'm obsessed with villainess comics ( and erina tbh ) so i'd love to know more about her in that au. 👀✨️

AHH yes!! Nothing concrete or super fleshed out but I’ve thought of a few things… apologies for ramblings it may not make sense or sounds cringe/cliche/too edgy eep 😭

Villainess Erina is a lady in waiting for a female lead character (either totoko or just a generic y/n character)

She used to not be a noble but a peasant and used to play with Osomatsu when he and his brothers snuck off to play with commoners as kids… so she has memories of being with Osomatsu back in the day

Erina made a deal with cursed magic artifact to replace a noble girl and take her position and links with royalty. The family she ended up being with has plans with infltrating royal families and stealing their magical crests because I like the fun magical medieval world where villainess novels take place in lol, and use Erina to do so.

She is hoping to be in a better life and feel beautiful… have a fantasy happy ever after. She falls in love with Osomatsu through being with the mc princess who is supposed to marry one of the brothers etc it’s like an otome story… Osomatsu doesn’t recognize her ofc, and is amicable to her… but his focus is always on other people and shenanigans and is oblivious to her feelings… Ends up unknowingly being inconsiderate to the her who wants to be closer to him. She goes back to the cursed magic artifact to make things go her way secretly but ends up causing havoc and make her go a little crazier each time. It goes from accidentally cursing people with bad luck and memory loss in her favor, to her anger making her blow up and set a festival on fire.

She even uses corrupt magic to force an arranged marriage to happen between Osomatsu and her… but even then she feels unfufilled and not really loved because she forced it to happen… and feels no one really know her to ever love her.. and when Osomatsu find out how she’s like he will hate her…. Assigned unlovable at birth

Erina had always thought her life would be better living like a princess but is not the one chosen to be loved, she is still longing, and miserable. She thinks no matter how much she tries to slither her way into this world, she is still insignificant with fake beauty and fake jewels.

And yadda yadda she causes a lot of bad ends , one being that she kills Osomatsu and kisses him to see if true loves kiss would bring him back to life (it doesn’t) and as a result kills the rest of the brothers in a crazed state of mistaking them all for him.

And these bad ends timelines keep replaying and start blending together and erina will wake up remembering how much pain she has been in and harm she cause.. feeling no hope for herself </3 and she would call off her arranged marriage and give up completely until Osomatsu is like so thrown off by her change in demeanor and start to chase after her 🥺 like wait don’t u like me why r u leaving .. changed the narrative the story forced her to be in.. and that’s when love story happen.. but it must happen after all that tragedy

Anyways that’s it ok bye

[nitewrighter]

On the (continued) topic of Spidey in DC, if I can be a bit crass with the subject matter... how many DC heroines (or DC villainesses, if you want to dip your toes in that puddle) do you think would find Peter/Spidey genuinely attractive as a person, even if they might not actually get to see his face? Not to step on Gwen or MJ's toes or anything but I feel like a lot of DC ladies would see that prime real estate and want in on that property, iykwim.

I just feel like there'd be, on more than one occasion, moments where a few random lady members of the League would absolutely play a few rounds of FMK if bored enough, Spider-Man would be among the choices, and it's usually F or M, but almost never K for the webslinger.

Honestly Spider-Man's like a brother to me, and a kid brother at that (...maybe because he's my younger brother's favorite superhero...), so beyond MJ (and to a much lesser extent Deadpool), I never really 'got' the concept of Spidey as the Marvel Comics Community Bicycle. He talks too much, and when he's put next to other heroes, it very quickly becomes "talks too much because he's self-conscious," so like, he's relatable to me, absolutely, but he's never really been that much of a romantic lead in my head. He's too much of the narrative's chew toy to be that, so like... you do have some overlap with Jimmy Olsen in that respect.

That being said, if I had to pick like... potential DC characters that would be into him, I'd say definitely Misa, my deep-cut fave from the 90's Superman comics that everyone has forgotten about. She has a fun tech-hippie look. She's obnoxious, she likes to cause problems on purpose--but deep down she's actually surprisingly well-meaning and very supportive of other characters going through really sloppy points in their own character arcs. She can be delightful fun in that "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go apeshit?" sense that I think would be a good contrast to Spidey. On top of that, they both have a passion for gadgetry! I'd love to see her tinker with his spider-suit capabilities! This, again, is Spidey moving into Jimmy Olsen's territory, because Misa was also a romantic interest for Jimmy Olsen for a handful of issues.

Again, I'd also like to see Spidey get sucked into the Forever People polycule. There's no escape. Just osmose him in.

I should probably try and veer this to more recognizable names, but I could also see 20-something Spider-Man getting with a Green Lantern. Either Kyle Rayner or Jessica Cruz. The mainstream Justice League I largely see perceiving Spider-Man as pretty much a kid. Zatanna could be a fun option, and also versatile depending on like, what level-of-maturity Spidey you want to work with.

OHH DONNA TROY OR CASSANDRA CAIN. WOMEN WHO WILL ELBOW-DROP HIM AND HE'LL THANK THEM FOR IT. Guy who goes "Hiiiii" and girl who goes "Bruh" power couples.

Blonde Twink stick-in-the-mud Brainiac-5 is an option, too. Someone to be geeky with but who is also kind of a bitch to offset your obnoxiousness. (Give him back his looong haaaaair).

Also I don't know if this would be shippy, but I would be interested in seeing him interact with Raven. Just the combination of Hope/Despair/Crushing Responsibility/Empathy would be very interesting to watch.

[love-sapphirerose]

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! is really Bad

When I first saw the 7th time loop anime trailers and beautiful animation designs, I thought it could be another anime I can be excited about but I wasn't because it was empty and really bland, boring, and full of cliches as the story is completely rushed within 12 episodes. The romance scenes feel empty and terrible as there's another special about them.

The author tries to make Rishe be this overrated kind badass female who is highly skilled using her 6 previous lives of being a merchant, apothecary, alchemist twice, maid, hunter-mercenary, and knight but it failed miserably as they're trying so hard at feminism.

The plot is a bit too designed to make Rishe look good and perfect and solve all the problems like with the maids. Rishe is almost too perfect as she can do anything and figure out everything. A lot of things are conveniently played out. The tender moments between her and the prince feels comical to me at times.

I like Rishe's character design but I don't like her personality because she reminds me of 3 previous main heroines I hate of kagome higurashi, sakura haruno, and towa higurashi because they're extremely annoying. I know arnold hein proposed to rishe and at first she rejected but after she accepted the second time she became annoyingly clingy about staying by his side even giving multiple boring speeches about even when he tries to kill her or tries to drive her away she will toxicily be with him, like the 3 previous heroines I hate acted especially sakura, and even talking about how's she this hostage/kidnapped princess. It really annoys me that rishe is disgusting kind and instantly forgiving as everyone will almost give into her demands after a boring speech.

I like arnold hein but him instantly fell in love with rishe all because she jumped off a high balcony without getting hurt is contrived and doesn't have much of a personality.

What really annoyed me about how rishe annoyingly begs arnold to put the ring on her finger and dramatically blushes and forgets to breath when he did, really cringey.

[zoobus]

The Bad Ending of an Otome

From time to time I've expressed a desire to explain otome isekai's appeal to me through a pastiche of my favorite writing pieces from tumblr, the Scorpion and the Frog. I still have not followed through, despite the fact that it should be literally the easiest thing in the world - the Villainess and Her World. Frustrating.

Anywho, today's scorpion/frog meta regards the jealous hater replacement heiress of a beautiful but terminally ill child in a dating sim.

The original game followed a girl who happened to look just like the now terminally dead Ophelia, who was previously alive and loved by all. The identical not-twin fills the Ophelia-shaped hole left in everyone's heart. The jealous hater replacement heiress (the villainess/frog, naturally) is quickly replaced and eventually killed for jealous hater maneuvers. Our main character (MC) of course reincarnates as the frog.

The first twist is a genre staple, could almost be considered the blueprint every story builds off of; rather than a specific, vindictive bitch... What if I was kind? What if I chose not to do anything that would make them want to kill me? What if I simply befriended the terminally ill Ophelia?

But like any good OI, the subversion takes it somewhere specific, someplace more personal. What if I befriended the terminally ill Ophelia...and still coveted everything she had? What if you're forced to realize it's actually pretty hard to not be a jealous hater when you're sitting side by side with someone effortlessly wealthier, prettier, more beloved than anything you'll ever experience? Especially when the beautiful dying Ophelia was honestly kind of a hateful bitch? And what if, despite all of this, you truly loved her? And that love didn't extinguish your overwhelming envy for what you could never have? This is an OI framing of what it's like to lose your best friend, the person no one else knew or loved like you did, to a slow, unstoppable terminal illness. It's a look at real friendship while harboring immense amounts of envy and hatred.

There's this tension with whether the MC really liked Ophelia, if she's saying "friend" or "love" out of habit rather than sincerity, whether Ophelia was just a bully using her wealth and power to manipulate someone she essentially owns, if her comment about dying with her are more about avoiding the the future or maybe placating a sick person, and nice little nuanced character things meant to keep you on your toes about the nature of their relationship. Area woman uncertain if she's being bullied or if this is girl bonding kind of stuff.

At times it would be logical to pity Ophelia, to despise her at others, even to take a certain amount of schadenfreude in this popular hot rich girl's pain. I liked the various ways the narrative muddied MC's perspective of Ophelia. She's an unpleasant, mean person that MC has to stick with whether she wants to or not.

I loved Ophelia. A lot.

Now of course they don't let this girl look terminally ill - this is a princess comic after all - but lmaooo do they let her act it. Ophelia is *Bitter* that she has to die. *Terrified* of the inevitable. *Seething* over the expectation that she suffer through future agonizing symptoms just so her family can see her longer. *Furious* at these lovesick horny men courting her like they don't know her days are numbered. "Oh I worship you Ophelia, nobody's made me feel this way before, no woman will ever measure up to you" she knows they only like her cause she's hot. Ophelia is so hostile, so spite-filled, so fucking mad that not only does she have to die young, these people who claim to love her are - in both overt and subtle ways - pressuring her to take her imminent death gracefully, quietly, and above all else, beautifully. Foisting dignity on this teenager who's going into her casket kicking and screaming. If Ophelia had a tumblr she'd spend her time browsing vent tags and sending suicide bait.

Her character is so good, I was unfairly irritated by her in-game replacement who hadn't done anything yet. You really get where Ophelia's at times excessive hatred for the male love interests was coming from because like...wow. You're going full yandere eternal prisoner bad end for her...? This innocent good girl lamb who wants the best for everyone? No matter how similar they look, the fact that she offers a kind word and a helping hand would break any TRUE Ophelia stan's immersion instantly. She would never.

Anyway. Stories centered on the friendship between girls that aren't overly saccharine or stilted displays positivity are sadly uncommon, but they're my favorite. Like not to be aro on main but I think what others get out of tales of romance is how I respond to tales of deep friendship between women. Asobi Asobase, Binbougami Ga, Nichijou, Surviving Romance, they all fulfill some base desire that no one else seems to cherish as strongly😢

When we finally get confirmation, I have to admit. I stared at this page for like three minutes, eyes wet.

Spoilers! She did love her. She loved her more than anyone.

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 29

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. EPISODE QUOTE: “The final stunt IS the best.” Number 29 is…The Ultimate Thrill.

This is widely regarded as the most…um… “suggestive” episode in “Batman: The Animated Series.” While the show was not above a few innuendos and implications here and there, they were usually pretty subtle. This episode, rather infamously, basically turns any undertones into overtones: subtlety is not part of the game. You can decide if that specific element is a good or a bad thing, but it certainly makes it memorable. Regardless, that’s NOT the real reason I love this story. “The Ultimate Thrill” focuses on the exploits of a character named Roxy Rocket: an original villainess created for the DCAU. She actually got her start in some spin-off comics for the franchise; the creators enjoyed the concept of the character so much, they finally gave her an animated outing with this story. The basic plot is pretty simple: Roxy teams-up with the Penguin, stealing jewelry for him while he acts as the fence, paying her for her work and then pawning off the baubles to the highest bidder. Penguin gets fed up with Roxy’s overzealous thrillseeking, however, and – out of fear she may cause trouble for his business at the Iceberg Lounge – tries to have her assassinated. Batman must now try to capture Roxy, before Penguin’s minions get to her first. It's the two villains who make this story so memorable. In Penguin’s case, this is the only really major story he had in the New Batman Adventures era of the show. He popped up frequently throughout season four, but it was usually as a cameo or just a minor supporting role. In this story, he’s the main villain (not the main ANTAGONIST, but the main VILLAIN; there’s a difference), and I really like the way he’s used here. By this point in the series, Oswald Cobblepot had seemingly reformed and was running a prestigious nightclub called the Iceberg Lounge…but was secretly still a villain, doing his dirty deeds out the back window. It was great to see that character concept in full action here.

Roxy, however, is the one who truly makes this story. Her origins are only described, not shown, but setup for the character is really great: once upon a time, Roxy was a movie stuntperson, and an aspiring actress. However, her stunts became increasingly dangerous, to the point where no one wanted to hire her for fear of either herself or others being hurt in the process. Roxy thus turned to a life of crime, figuring that nothing could be more thrilling than the life of an outlaw. We’ve had other villains who enjoyed the thrill of the chase, so to speak – Catwoman is a good example, for instance – but none quite so…intensely as Roxy Rocket. To say that Roxy is an adrenaline junkie is putting it far too mildly. It’s made pretty darn obvious that she basically “gets off” on thrills; that’s where so much of the more suggestive side of the story comes from.

Even ignoring that specific angle, though, it’s just interesting to see HOW MUCH of a thrillseeker Roxy is. She will do literally ANYTHING, it often seems, just to get some excitement. From very simple things, like mock-gambling, to outright taking pleasure out of the thought of her own possible demise, it seems like she’ll try just about whatever, short of murder, simply for the sake of a little excitement. On that note, yeah, Roxy’s also not really depicted as outright EVIL, but simply a thrillseeking lunatic: in both this episode and her comic appearances from the DCAU, she’s consistently depicted as being much less violent and cruel compared to a lot of other baddies. There are even hints of a sort of self-deluding naivete to Roxy: she describes herself out loud as “the heroine of the story,” and seems legitimately shocked when other characters turn against her. When Penguin tries to kill her, she’s absolutely flabbergasted. When Batman snaps the cuffs on her at one point, she’s genuinely confused why. I love the different layers of this character, and I really wish we could have seen more of her…but you can certainly say that her single appearance (barring a Superman crossover) was a banger. Did I mean it “that way” when I said “banger”? Maybe, maybe not. With Roxy Rocket, neither would be surprising. Ha Ha.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 28! Hint: “Sometimes there are no happy endings.”

[xxgothchatonxx]

My Thoughts™ on the mob storyline in Renfield is that if it wasn’t in line with the rest of the bizarre, comic-book-esque tone that this film was so wonderful at doing, it would’ve annoyed the shit out of me.

A lot of critics said that it brought the film to a halt but I disagree. I thought the wacky energy was still there - good balance of wacky and being serious when they needed to be, but still knowing “hey, this is a goofy comedy-horror, so let’s have fun”.

Shohreh Aghdashloo was acting like a 60s Batman villainess, and I fucking adore her for it.

Ben Schwartz - need I say more?

Even that bouncer guy with the faux-hawk! That guy had about 3 lines but, far out, he committed!

And Mandy! Didn’t even get a line in the theatrical cut, but she was a mood and a half!

Look, in the hands of the wrong people, this would’ve been hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Count Dracula teaming up with a mob boss to take over the world. If they had played that entirely straight, I probably would’ve hated this storyline. But as it was, I thought it was fun. The right kind of stupid.  

[beevean]

One of the go-to defenses for Surge is "you just hate strong women!"

1. People usually complain about her being too weak so that retort makes zero sense

2. you'd have to blatantly ignore what the comic showed to use a response like that while being 100% serious.

96% of Surge's screen time is getting beaten around and humiliated by the men that she's scared of. I don't think she's the empowered villainess that fans are clamoring for

I really hate how easily they play the "you just hate women" card 🙄

Yes, Surge gets called "Scourge with tits", but definitely not by people who love Scourge and hypocritically hate Surge when they have so much in common 😬

Surge is all hype but no show. Reading her entire arc back to back only proves it. Now, I wouldn't have wanted her to win against Sonic because ofc Sonic is Sonic, he's a demigod with years of experience, and she was pretty much a lab rat. But she really didn't do anything else, either. She won against Metal thanks to Kit's help (and Metal shouldn't have been fried so easily since he canonically can withstand huge amounts of electricity) and she beat up Whisper who doesn't seem to fare well in hand-to-hand combat anyway (also she was cheating with her wisp thingy).

Which can work, you know? You can have an underdog that tries her best but still fails because she's not good enough. There's even a panel of her having a breakdown because of it. But then don't hype her as the hottest shit and a worthy rival to Sonic. guys. guys that's the reason y'all hate infinite. ah now who's the one unfairly biased? 🙃

[susandsnell]

🔥 Batman comics in general

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

Oooh! I do think a lot of my saltier Batman comics opinions aren't exactly unpopular in nature (too much grimdark and never in the right direction, the misogyny, Killing Joke was a mistake, BruceBabs was a mistake, stop misusing Rogues), so I'll try to bring up some less-discussed ones! (Or at least ones I see discussed less, lol.)

Batfam is conceptually good, but nobody is handling it well. As I've previously expressed, Batfam content constantly oscillates between "Bruce is an abusive kidnapper of traumatized children he trains into child soldiers despite having the means to have them live in luxury, does not provide with love or positive reinforcement, and regularly pits against each other" and some of the most facile, cringey, early 2010s Tumblr conception of found-family to be seen, when I think it's more dramatically effective to find a happy medium between the two. A loving superhero found family with its share of dysfunction, hurts, and mistakes and appropriate nuance being brought to these conflicts is apparently too much to ask for (as is writers remembering Robin(s) and Batgirl literally exist as kid appeal characters).

Likewise, canon Harlivy is seldom handled well. As I said on Twitter the other day, "corporate Pride ate Harlivy". Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy's relationship, both back when it was subtextual and later on as it became Harley's main ship in iterations where she's able to get out of her abusive relationship with the Joker was groundbreaking and important. It was absolutely crucial to middle school me. But somewhere along the way, people lost the plot that they are indeed villainesses (whose queerness was meant to make them more endearing/sympathetic/relatable, but not change this status), and it fell prey to the respectability politics traps that plague just too many sapphic ships once they go canon. In order to be 'good representation', their villainy extends to 'haha RANDOM' irreverent chaos, and their personality gets boiled down to the shallow archetypes of 'chaotic and perky' Harley and 'snarky and sexy' Ivy. Their relationship to one another is 100% fluff, because God knows any nuance, tension, flaws, or friction between two master criminal characters with canonically tragic histories can't possibly be allowed. Because of the misogynistic expectations of Women Being Soft And Good coupled with the homophobic respectability politics of being as toothless, soft, and desexualized as possible to appear nonthreatening, sapphic ships are held to such unfair standards wherein the slightest conflict will be termed abusive and bad representation, and as such, they're written cardboard-flat, and unfortunately, this has befallen Harlivy in most canons where they're together. Even if it's realistically exploring things like recovery for either lady, because that's messy, and complicated, and nonlinear, and who wants that when you can have a memeable 'be gay do crimes'? Oh, but don't worry. Sometimes they will be sexually active - for the titillation of straight men. In-universe. (Don't get me started on the Harley Quinn show...) And poor Selina gets roped into third-wheeling/cheerleading the most boring possible version of them too often...

A lot of the most popular/famous titles are not the better ones. (Not you, Long Halloween, you're a delight and everyone loves you.) Everything that's there to say about The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns has been said better by people smarter and better-versed in comics than me, but Batman: Hush is just contrivance upon contrivance, everyone and their mother is tired of the shit-billion stories about Joker fridging yet another person, and perhaps my most unpopular opinion is that Batman: Year One is entirely overrated. I like the noir atmosphere, the truly corrupted Gotham it gives us, and the sweet triumvirate between Gordon, Harvey, and Bruce, but seeing adaptations like The Batman (2022) and even The Dark Knight (yes, I'm saying something nice about Nolanverse for once lolol) take these elements and do so much more with them really highlights the weaknesses in this story. There's some really good origin/character work for Bruce becoming Batman and the psychology behind it, but past that, not a whole lot happens beyond a very thin and confusing police corruption plot, and everyone is just too damn mean for the sake of the grimdark setting. Bruce injures an already exploited child in the red-light district and sexually harasses the Gordons to throw them off his trail for being Batman, and the latter is played for laughs. Jim cheats on his pregnant wife with a coworker half his age and both women are portrayed as stereotypically in these roles as humanly possible. Selina Kyle is...there, to be angry and sexualized and not much else. It just feels like a lot of buildup without much payoff.

Lastly, and jumping off the above, I'm taking away the Gordon family from writers until they've learned to play nicely with them. I don't know what it is about Jim Gordon that makes writers - men in particular - work through justifying their weird issues about women, but my God, the poor man has been character assassinated to hell and back. (Everyone has in comics, but it's always in the same way with Gordon that properly grosses me out.) If he's not cheating on his housewife with a much younger coworker he's presented as oh-so-noble for not outright workplace harassing, he's neglectful, abusive, or otherwise aggressive to his loved ones in ways that are almost always justified or excused narratively because he's 'dealing with a lot' or xyz past trauma. He's frequently made into a mouthpiece for misogyny, calling women "bitches" in the Arkham series and making other such delightful comments, fetishizing Harlivy (in the Harley Quinn show!), or putting down Barbara's capabilities. If he's written to be struggling with addiction, it's always played as a joke. And for Barbara's part, since The Killing Joke, she's always such a favoured writers' punching bag/doll to put in uncomfortable relationships, often having her talents, skills and intelligence undermined in favour of portraying her as a sex-crazed, overemotional disaster who's in it for the thrills until she is narratively punished in some gendered way. I don't get it! I'm all for what makes characters tick or challenging them or giving them flaws or new horrific situations to work through, but why is it always the same tired, offensive hows and wherefores for the Gordon family? Let them rest!