#oftentimes both

[senblades]

Shujin!Goro, of the "will beat you up in an alley" variety

The black turtleneck is seemingly mandatory in shujin au's lol

[willowbird]

what I desperately need to happen in a time travel fic:

Crowd: King! King! King! King!

Riko: *smug bitch*

Neil and/or Andrew: *nearly fucking losing it because they haven't thought about Riko's "King" thing in at least 15 years - so all they can think of is their VERY overweight rescue cat that has a tendency to fart when she purrs too hard*

[apollos-boyfriend]

boy who is so so overstimulated and whose classmates will so so not shut the fuck up

[flowerbloom-arts]

Change is a two-way street.

(Is my favoritism towards the Damsel obvious enough, or?)

note: TLQ [aka my sona Bloombird] is a butch sapphic and this is yuri

[uncanny-tranny]

In political spheres, I so often want to ask, "is what you're doing 'punching up,' or are they just an easily-available, acceptable target?"

[teplejtrouba]

my psychiatrist confirmed that i am in fact autistic

[queen0fm0nsterz]

Reading my fave thin man and lady fic. Kicking my feet a lot because tbh. Sometimes a sad man really is just a weird woman's science project in a way that is so homoerotic

[shakestheclown]

y'all who actually have partners,, what is a text ice breaker to start conversation? im really bad at it 😭

it feels important to note that when we do talk, the conversation flows great we have a nice rapport and complimentary senses of humors it's just starting the conversation that is the problem i think we are both just painfully shy 😔 (and maybe traumatized .)

[cheemken]

Same anon who sent the ask about Drayton having a fear of ice types/the cold, I gave you angst but now I bring fluff

Crispin might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he’s definitely picked up on how Drayton is around ice types/the cold even if drayton denies it, EVERYONE knows what happened in opelucid city, Crispin would be more surprised if Drayton wasn’t traumatized from that experience so Crispin often distracts Drayton whenever Crispin visits the polar biome! He also lets his Pokemon out “to get a breath of fresh crisp air” but really it’s to warm Drayton up since they just radiate heat and spook off any ice types, he himself also isn’t shy about just hugging Drayton when he can (fire type trainers also run hot fr) so he’s got toasty hugs!!! Crispin does try to be subtle about his distractions and warming up Drayton as he doesn’t want Drayton to push him away and keep his fears even more locked up! He wants to support his friend!!!

He also may or may not have gifted Drayton a torchic once Drayton becomes more comfortable w/ sharing his fears, friend shaped heat warmer :) ~Drayton Angst anon 💛

Drayton/Crispin friendship my beloved😭😭😭

Your honour you do not understand how trash I am w platonic pairings I fucking love this so so much chdmbxj

You're so right, he'd so give him a Torchic ;w;

Would also be sweet if Drayton names the Torchic after Crispin or like a similar name bc ofc he'd be soft like that but he won't ever tell anyone bc that'd be uncool. Imagine if it slips one day tho, Crispin asks him abt he Torchic and Drayton says it's doing okay, calling the Torchic by the lil nickname he gave him, and he just suddenly stops, red faced, and Crispin has like stars in his eyes going >:0!!! Hahahah

Like he'd be so so hyped fr, hugging Drayton going, "aww you do love him! And even me!!" And Dray's just trying to be so cool abt it, and just pats Crispin's back going yeah yeah he does care all that. Bet he loves Crispin's hugs too, he will never admit it tho, but whenever Crispin sees him, he'd immediately run up and hug him. Everyone's like, surprised, even their friends, bc wow Drayton's suddenly letting someone hug him. But it's just soft your honour, that Drayton opens up to Crispin more than anyone, even Iris was happy he has someone who he can share his secrets w, and even invite over the house, it's always nice to see her brother vibing w his friends

Your honour Drayton would be so soft w him, a special soft spot for him like how Iris is w Hilbert bc they're also besties your honour. Lmfao imagine them fighting who has the better best friend bc I know they would they're siblings of fucking course they would

Just "my best bro's cool, he makes me food"

"yeah, well, my own bestie is cool too, he's a champion like me"

"you always say that"

"because it's true, he's the best"

"you both jumped from Village Bridge one time"

"Hilda said if we did a Swanna dive it'd hurt less and we were fourteen that time what did you expect—"

[webcomic-character-tournament]

Genuine question. Why are comics from online only publishers discouraged? What is the goal behind discouraging paid webcomics?

sorry for taking so long to answer this!

i got really excited about answering this but also am not very good at communicating things clearly, i often get lost in the details in my passion about stuff like this, so i hope this is still interesting to read and intelligible lol!

i dont think there is any one thing that inherently defines what is and isn't a webcomic, it's an amorphous category that i enjoy the ambiguity of. but for me, what first led to my wonder for them as an 11 year old, and what has been a major factor in my passion for them even as an adult, was their low barrier to entry in both making them and accessing them. if you have internet access and time, almost anyone can make a webcomic if they want to! of course, without editors (or often even full story plans) or sensitivity readers or more people on a team to collaborate and contribute to the comic's vision, and the huge effort that it takes to do all the tasks of writing, inks, coloring, lettering, etc. all on ones own often without professional resources to facilitate that, that means that a lot of webcomics are really rough in some way or another. but a lot of people have interesting ideas they want to work with, but don't have the technical skill, desire or ability to market themselves or be beholden to external work deadlines, or connections in some way or another to be able to share those ideas through traditional publishing. regardless of skill or ability, a lot of marginalized people are barred from having their stories accepted by publishers due to bigotry and expectations about what kind of story is profitable.

as a disabled lgbt kid, i definitely read a lot of really bad webcomics i wish i hadn't, but also some of the media i was exposed to that most represented me back then was in the form of webcomics from people a lot like me. and i could read so much of it easily and for free without having to risk much to access it behind my parents' backs!

obviously that isn't the case for every webcomic, but for me and my history with them, them being easily accessible to both publish and read has been really important.

there are absolutely a lot of good points to be made about how publishing free to read webcomics isn't always the most accessible thing for a lot of people, especially for poor and disabled people. making webcomics takes a huge amount of time and effort, and sometimes even if people are passionate about making a comic, they just can't afford to find the time for that around all the other responsibilities of their day to day lives unless it can be a consistent income source. thats why even if paid online comics arent my platonic ideal of webcomics, i absolutely would never exclude them. i want small creators making stories i want to read to get the money they need to survive and keep telling stories without burning out!

it could be argued that online publishers who specifically focus on webcomics don't always present the same barriers to entry as traditional publishers, and many don't restrict the scope of marginalized creators' stories at all or to the same extent as people have struggled in other more mainstream avenues. and from my outside understanding of publishers like hiveworks, i'd absolutely agree with that! i love a lot of hiveworks comics and think its an awesome thing! (of course literally my icon is from a hiveworks comic, tiger tiger!) nonetheless however, part of my goals with this tournament is to highlight lesser known comics, and as publishers like hiveworks help advertise and promote their comics, even if i still want everyone to read all my favorite comics published by them, and certainly there are limits to those advertising resources, they still don't need as much help as other comics without that support. so its not as much 'try not to submit these' and more 'as you submit stuff like this, try to submit stuff with less advertising resources and popularity too!'

going into this tournament i also had a similar sentiment for stuff like webtoons originals. there was an added element to me in how i feel like i know a lot of people nowadays who read webtoons but don't have much awareness of other forms of webcomic, but even if in my love for webcomics i want people to come to appreciate all the breadth of ways they can exist in, thats obviously not something to make a huge priority. it's incredible the amount of forms comics can take (sidenote but reading scott mccloud's "understanding comics" a couple years ago was really formative for me in cementing how much i appreciate that, i'd highly recommend it!!!), and the way infinite scroll comics like webtoon style comics more fully make use of their digital medium, using time scrolling to pace things in place of traditional gutters and panelling, is really really cool. of course they're becoming more popular in a world where more people have smartphones, where webtoon style comics are a lot easier to read than many other forms. i love a lot of webtoons, and id feel regressive to discourage stuff like line webtoon original comics any more than stuff like hiveworks comics, just to go against current trends in what comics people seem to prefer. they have a similar low barrier to entry (through contests) as other online publishers, and it's cool to see creators get the opportunity to get paid for their work and get help from professional editors and stuff

but in the past couple weeks of running this tournament, i ended up reading a lot more about the behind the scenes of what its like to be a line webtoon original creator. line webtoon's expectations for their creators are incredibly unrealistic and exploitative, with grueling deadlines leading to a lot of creators to get repetitive strain injuries, all while working for well below industry standards. obviously a lot of webcomic creators make an inconsistent poverty level income out of it as independent creators, and that shouldn't happen either, but it's absolutely inexcusable for a company to profit off this labor and then manufacture these same conditions. without any organized labor movement surrounding that issue, that of course isn't an argument against reading or promoting these comics on its own, creators are more likely to get more income if their comics get more popular, and despite the promise of popularity by becoming an official comic, they absolutely still aren't all promoted equally. what has made me want to slightly more discourage (but still absolutely not disallow!) stuff like line webtoon official comics has been the combination of that along with learning that much of the editing of webtoons originals carries less of the benefits of having experienced creatives collaborating with creators to elevate their stories to new levels, and very often instead ends up taking the form of 'simplify this plotline and make this character look more attractive and fit this archetype more fully so we can market this better and have readers easily consume each update while they're scrolling their phone without having to think about it too much'. while obviously there are a lot of amazing webtoon official comics in spite of what i've heard anectdotally, hearing that just really went against so much of what i've most valued about my experience with webcomics!

i want creators to be able to tell stories no matter how weird and unmarketable, where they'll never have to worry about pushback for making stories with characters and themes that resonate for them as a member of any oppressed group, and where there's as little pressure as possible pushing them to work harder or faster than they healthily can or want to! so for me, even if i still love a lot of online published comics and want them to be celebrated and want their creators to be able to make a comfortable living out of them, i still just want to highlight stories that had that level of freedom that has created some of my favorite experiences with webcomics just a little bit more.

[hychlorions]

imagine if klapollo got the bridge to the turnabout plot instead though. tweaked a little so apollo gets a guilty defendant. meanwhile you got klavier as the prosecution. the motive is actually reasonable but they still committed the crime so it'll be like. will you fight for the truth. or will you fight for justice

[asagi-red-wolf]

ok but you KNOW Monster High did something SEVERELY right when I spent last year worried about all the changes they’d make to g3 because I love g1 so much but now all I can do is worry about all the changes they’ll make to g4 (because you know it’ll happen eventually) because I love g3 so much

[liquidstar]

did anyone else grow up with the sentiment that not wearing socks inside the house is bad for you (you'll catch a cold)? thats not true btw. its common w greek moms for some reason but i wanna know if other ppl hear it too lol

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"Sounds like Dorian alright," Randall chuckled; even as a boy, his best friend seemed to take any and all opportunities he found to try and throw a party, and although these attempts didn't always pan out, he still tried. Even as a child, Randall knew it wasn't because Dorian enjoyed being the center of these parties (unlike what some suspected), it was simply because he wanted everyone to have a good time drinking, dancing, playing party games, and just overall having fun, and that especially went for Randall, who got to enjoy some of these lavish get-togethers through Dorian, who always insisted his best friend and his mother get to join in.

(And who knew-maybe that'd still be the case once they made it to California; Dorian throwing parties. They'd probably be scaled down from the wildly over-the-tip ones held at Gracey Manor, of course, but he could see his dear friend still putting quite a few on for even the most minute of celebrations.)

"I wish I could see these dresses too," he smiled, brightening at the idea of making him and Emily matching outfits, and especially giving his all when it came to his bride's dresses; he'd never do anything by half when it came to her. It was a shame she couldn't have brought them back with her from the future, he really would've liked to see them (and see if he'd any gotten better post-mortem-Lord knew he had all the time in the world to practice and improve!)

"Did you, uh, have a favorite that I made, for a particular party, I mean?"

[many-gay-magpies]

am i attracted to you or do i want your gender?: the ongoing debate

[greencheekconure27]

Constantly tormented by all the story ideas I'll never write because I lack the skill? Talent? Ability to concentrate? Whatever it is it hurts.

Some of these have been living in my head for fifteen years now and yet I can't achieve as much as a drabble.

The muses are cruel sometimes.