#well referencing classic tumblr posts

[theworstcreature]

Next time i suspect someone’s an ajr fan, I’m just going to ask them where Steve’s going (a la the presidents shoelaces)

[wifelinkmtg]

TUMBLR POST EDITOR WON'T LET ME TITLE THIS POST ANYMORE SO I GUESS THIS IS THE TITLE NOW. WEBBED SITE INNIT

So let's say you grew up in the nineties and that The Lion King was an important movie to you. Let's say that the character of Scar - snarling, ambitious, condescending, effeminate Scar - stirred feelings in you which you had no words for as a child. And then let's say, many years later, you're talking about it with a college friend, and you say something like, "oh man, I think Scar was some sort of gay awakening for me," and she fixes you with this level stare and says, "Scar was a fascist. What's the matter with you?"

The immediate feeling is not unlike missing a step: hang on, what's happening, what did I miss? You knew there were goose-stepping hyenas in "Be Prepared," but you didn't think it mattered that much. He's the bad guy, after all, and the movie's just pointing it out. Your friend says it's more than that: the visuals of the song are directly referencing the Nuremberg rallies. They're practically an homage to Riefenstahl. This was your sexual awakening? Is this why you're so into peaked caps and leather, then? Subliminal nazi kink, perhaps?

And then one of your other friends cuts in. "Hold up," he says, "let's think about what Scar actually did in the movie. He organized a group of racialized outcasts and led them against a predatory monarchy. Why are you so keen to defend their hereditary rule? Scar's the good guy here." The conversation immediately descends into a verbal slap fight about who the real bad guy is, whether Scar's regime was actually responsible for the ecological devastation of the Pride Lands, whether the hyenas actually count as "racialized" because James Earl Jones voiced Mufasa after all. Your Catholic friend starts saying some strange and frankly concerning shit about Natural Law. Someone brings The Lion King 2 into it. You leave the conversation feeling a little bit lost and a little bit anxious. What were we even talking about?

INTRODUCING: THE DITCH

There is a way of reading texts which I'm afraid is pervasive, which has as its most classical expression the smug obsession with trivia and minutiae you find in a certain vein of comic book fan. "Who was the first Green Lantern? What was his weakness? Do you even know the Green Lantern Oath?" It eschews the subjective in favor of definitively knowable fact. You can't argue with this guy that, say, Alan Scott shouldn't really count as the first Green Lantern because his whole deal is so radically different from the Hal Jordan/John Stewart/Guy Gardner Corps-era Lanterns, because this guy will simply say "but he's called Green Lantern. Says so right on the cover. Checkmate." This approach to reading a text is fundamentally 1) emotionally detached (there's a reason the joke goes, oh you like X band? name three of their songs - and not, which of their songs means the most to you? which of them came into your life at exactly the right moment to tell you exactly what you needed to hear just then?) and 2) defensive. It's a stance that is designed not to lose arguments. It says so right on the cover. Checkmate.

And then you get the guys who are like "well obviously Bruce Wayne could do far more as a billionaire to solve societal problems by using his tremendous wealth to address systemic issues instead of dressing up as a bat and punching mental patients in the head," and these guys have half a point but they're basically in the same ditch butting heads with the "well, actually" guys, and can we not simply extricate ourselves from the ditch entirely?

So, okay, let's return to our initial example. Scar is portrayed using Nazi iconography - the goose-stepping, the monumentality, the Nuremberg Lichtdom. He is also flamboyant and effete. He unifies and leads a group of downtrodden exiles to overthrow an absolute monarch. He's also a self-serving despot on whose rule Heaven Itself turns its back. You can't reconcile these things from within the ditch - or if you can, the attempt is likely to be ad-hoc supposition and duct tape.

Instead, let's ask ourselves what perspective The Lion King is coming from. What does it say is true about the world? What are its precepts, its axioms?

There is a natural hierarchical order to the world. This is just and righteous and the way of things, and attempts to overthrow this order will be punished severely by the world itself.

Fascism is what happens when evil men attempt to usurp this natural order with the aid of a group or groups of people who refuse to accept their place in the order.

There exists an alternative to defending and adhering to one's place in the natural order - it consists only of selfish spineless apathy.

Manliness is an essential quality of a just ruler. Unmanliness renders a person unfit for rule, and often resentful and dangerous as well.

And isn't that interesting, laid out like that? It renders the entire argument about the movie irrelevant (except for whatever your Catholic friend was on about, since his understanding of the world seems to line up with the above precepts weirdly well.) It's meaningless to argue about whether Scar was a secret hero or a fascist, when the movie doesn't understand fascism and has a damn-near alien view of what good and evil are.

There's always gonna be someone who, having read this far, wants to reply, "so, what? The Lion King is a bad movie and the people who made it were homophobes and also American monarchists, somehow? And anyone who likes it is also some sort of gay-bashing crypto-authoritarian?" To which I have to reply, man, c'mon, get out of the ditch. You're no good to anyone in there. Take my hand. I'm going to pull on three. One... two...

SO PHYREXIA [PAUSE FOR APPLAUSE, GROANS]

We're talking about everyone's favorite ichor-drooling surgery monsters again because there was a bit in my ~*~seminal~*~ essay Transformation, Horror, Eros, Phyrexia which seemed to give a number of readers quite a bit of trouble: namely, the idea that while Phyrexia is textually fascist, their aesthetic is incompatible with real-world fascism, and further, that this aesthetic incompatibility in some way outweighs the ways in which they act like a fascist nation in terms of how we think of them. I'll take responsibility here: I don't think that point is at all clear or well-argued in that essay. What I was trying to articulate was that the text of Magic: the Gathering very much wants Phyrexia to be supremely evil and dangerous fascists, because that makes for effective antagonists, but in the process of constructing that, it's accidentally encoded a whole bunch of fascinating presuppositions that end up working at cross-purposes with its apparent aim. That's... not that much clearer, is it? Hmm. Why don't I just show you what I mean?

Atraxa, Grand Unifier (art by Marta Nael)

In "Beneath Eyes Unblinking," one of the March of the Machine stories by K. Arsenault Rivera, there's a fascinating and I think revealing passage in which Atraxa (big-deal Phyrexianized angel and Elesh Norn's lieutenant) has a run-in with an art museum in New Capenna. The first thing I want to talk about is that, in this passage, Atraxa has no understanding of the concept of "beauty". A great deal of space in such a rushed storyline is devoted to her trying to puzzle out what beauty means and interrogating the minds of her recently-compleated Capennan aesthetes to try and understand it. In the end, she is unable to conceive of beauty except as "wrongness," as anathema.

So my first question is, why doesn't Atraxa have any idea of beauty? This is nonsense, right? We could point to a previous story, "A Garden of Flesh," by Lora Gray, in which Elesh Norn explicitly thinks in terms of beauty, but that's a little bit ditchbound, isn't it? The better argument is to simply look at Phyrexian bodies, at the Phyrexian landscape, all of which looks the way it does on purpose, all of which has been shaped in accordance with the very real aesthetic preferences of Phyrexians. How you could look at the Fair Basilica and not understand that Phyrexians most definitely have an idea of beauty, even if you personally disagree with it, is baffling. This is a lot like the canonical assertion that Phyrexians lack souls, which is both contradicted elsewhere in canon and essentially meaningless, given Magic's unwillingness or inability to articulate what a soul is in its setting, and as with this, it seems the goal is simply to dehumanize Phyrexians, to render them alien, even at the cost of incoherence or internal contradiction.

Atraxa's progress through the museum is fascinating. It evokes the 1937 Nazi exhibit on "degenerate art" in Munich, but not at all cleanly. The first exhibit, which is of representational art, she angrily destroys for being too individualistic (a point of dissonance with the European fascist movements of the 20th century, which formed in direct antagonism to communism.) The second exhibit, filled with abstract paintings and sculptures, she destroys even more angrily for having no conceivable use (this is much more in line with the Nazi idea of "degenerate art", so well done there.) The third exhibit is filled with war trophies and reconstructions from a failed Phyrexian invasion of Capenna many years prior, which she is angriest of all with (and fair enough, I suppose.) But then, after she's done completely trashing the place, she spots a number of angel statues on the cathedral across the plaza, and she goes apeshit. In a fugue of white-hot rage, she pulverizes the angel heads, and here is where I have to ask my second question:

Why angels? If you are trying to invoke fascist attitudes toward art, big statues of angels are precisely the wrong thing for your fascist analogues to hate. Fascists love monumental, heroic representations of superhuman perfection. It's practically their whole aesthetic deal. I understand that we're foreshadowing the imminent defeat of Phyrexia at the hands of legions of angels and a multiversal proliferation of angel juice, but that just leads to the exact same question: why angels? To the best of my knowledge, the Phyrexian weakness to New Capennan angel juice is something invented for this storyline. They have, after all, been happily compleating angels since 1997. We could talk about the in-universe justification for why Halo specifically is so potent, but I don't remember what that justification is, and also don't care. Let's not jump back in the ditch, please. The point is, someone decided that this time, Phyrexia would be defeated by an angelic host, and what does that mean? What is the text trying to say? What are its precepts and axioms?

Let me ask you a question: how many physically disabled angels are there in Magic: the Gathering? How about transsexual angels? How many angels are there, on all of the cards that have ever been printed for Magic: the Gathering, that are even just a bit ugly? Do you get it yet? Or do you need me to spell it out for you?

SPELLING IT OUT FOR YOU

There is a kind of body which is bad. It is bad because it has been significantly altered from its natural state, and it is bad because it is repellent to our aesthetic sensibilities.

The bad kind of body is contagious. It spreads through contact. Sometimes people we love are infected, and then they become the bad kind of body too.

There is a kind of body which is good. It is good because it is pleasing to our aesthetic sensibilities, and it is good because it is unaltered from its (super)natural state.

A happy ending is when all the good bodies destroy or drive into hiding all of the bad bodies. A happy ending is when the bad bodies of the people we love are forcibly returned to being the good kind of body.

Do you get it now?

ENDNOTES

It's worth noting that the ditch is very similar to the white American Evangelical hermeneutics of "the Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it," the defensive chapter-and-verse-or-it-didn't-happen approach to reading a text, what Fred Clark of slacktivist calls "concordance-ism". I don't think that's accidental. We stand underneath centuries of people reading the Bible very poorly - how could that not affect how we read things today? We are participants in history whether we like it or not.

I sincerely hope I haven't come across as condescending in this essay. Close reading is legitimately difficult! They teach college courses on this stuff! And while it is frustrating to have my close readings interrogated by people who... aren't doing that, like. I do get it. I find myself back in the ditch all the time. This stuff is hard. It is also, sorry, crucial if you intend to say something about a text that's worth saying.

I also hope I've communicated clearly here. Magic story is sufficiently incoherent that trying to develop a thesis about it often feels like trying to nail jello to the wall. If anyone has questions, please ask them! And thank you for reading. Next time, we'll probably do the new Eldraine set.

[staridust]

Sunny Day Jack ★ Stari’s Versions

—

★ DO NOT USE/REPOST WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. NO MINORS.

—

Apologies for the tumblr inactivity, space crew! I’m much more active over on Twitter!

Here’s a simple lineup of Jack designs that I’ll be personally using for myself! I love when artists take a character and add their own personal twists on them, so I’ve done the same to my favorite technicolor clown.

I’ve also seen a few people be interested in two other designs that I’ve done, so I’ve added them to the lineup as well for others to use or to see their full outfits!

—

Here’s a explanation of each design element if you all are interested in that:

Sunnyverse Jack(Left):

Sunnyverse!Jack is my personal interpretation, artistic recolor, and story with him. He is basically a spin-off of the Sunny Time Town AU by JambeeBot.

I wanted his jacket to reflect looking up at a vibrant summer sky, with clouds, rainbow pockets, swirls, and stickers to add to the childlike wonder. His different color suspenders replaces the stripes on his shirt, which is now a sun on the collar!

I’ve personally always liked the idea of Jack’s hair cascading into purple tips, it’s been referenced in many other drawings of mine. Considering Papa Rise also has purple-ish hair, I think it fits!

This design went through a couple sketch phases and some reworks with the most recent showcase being the birthday drawing of Artemis, where this design can be seen in now outdated-concept!

Alternate Outfit (Middle):

Over a year ago, I made a drawing about Jack and bowties, spreading my bowtie propaganda…. And I still am HAHA. Listen, Jack with a bowtie is so cute, So I’m bringing that design back as well as a full ref!

I’d like to say that this is his work or side outfit, but this is not the teacher AU. I did not create that AU, so don’t refer to this design as the teacher AU!

Even though I don’t consider Jack as a rodeo clown, I gave him clown cowboy boots to reference [Redacted] and his southern residence somewhere.

Rainbow Factory Jack(Right):

RainbowFactory!Jack or RF!Jack is an AU I made last year as well, and finally got around to giving you all a full standing ref for him!

He got more attention than I thought, I know a couple of you like delusional men. I get it.

For his hair, aside from the primary highlights, I also changed the coloring to be a bit more muddled and darker on the teal spectrum, as I like to do that when I draw Jack in a not so-friendly manner. His hair is also more spiked, compared to the others who have more of a fluffy round curl.

His coat is very simple, red and yellow stripes down to a cloud border, and the inside of the coat shows a giant sun on the underside. He also has different color rainbow splotches in different places on him!

His eyes can vary in size or be consistent, and the colors of them can change or spiral too! Usually though, the right eye is lighter than the other. His colors are more saturated and darker than the other designs.

Cotton Candy Cupid Jack:

Finally, the last design I have in the lineup is Cupid!Jack!

This is the first custom design I’ve made of Jack. Shared in this post, this was meant to be the Valentine’s Day design I had for him! Though this drawings is extremely old and outdated now for both my MC and art, I decided to carry it on to a proper Cupid AU design for everyone!

He was originally labeled as Cotton Candy Jack in a wip post that keeps getting shared around from time to time, but I’m unsure if I should keep that name for this lover boy now! There was a community cotton candy Jack trend a month or two ago, so maybe I should change the name? What do you all think?

Design wise he parallels the classic Incubus Jack, which I believe was originally a Halloween costume. His design shares similarities on purpose, being the extended body paint gradient and the sheer fabric overlay on the pants.

Almost like an angel/devil duo, Cupid Jack is more pastel, softer/brighter primary hues, has fluffy wings! My goal was to have them be similar enough side by side, but also different enough to tell that they are different themes/holidays.

He has a motif of hearts, ribbons, and sun swirls. His hair gradient is also the most vibrant one, going from cyan to a vibrant pink at the tips.

He has sandals because I thought it fit the whole Cupid vibe, but drawing his dogs out every-time might actually be the end of me.

—

While I will use these personal redesigns, I want to make it clearly stated and obvious that Jack is not my original character, nor are these redesigns an attempt to change his character or completely detach him from his media. There are simply my fun artistic portrayals of him, as I admire his original design, media, and game as well.

The Rainbow Factory and Cupid AUs are technically my AUs. Ship art, written stories, headcanons, etc. of RF or Cupid Jack are completely okay to create! I just ask that you tag me so that I can see what you all do with him!

However, I ask that if Sunnyverse Jack is used, please ask for permission before using his custom design, as it is my own design of him that I use personally.

…and also, I wanna see more MV Jacks! Artists! Show me how you would draw him in your trademark! I love creative expression!

[einsatzzz]

Profile Info + Project KHRe(:born!!!)

Hello! You can call me Ein. I'm an artist who's trying to improve my drawings and to manifest the visions in my brain. I also love OCs very much, whether it's mine or others' OCs. For more information, you can refer to my About page. Feel free to send an ask too if you want!

Blog’s Current Status: Active (can be inactive on weekdays)

OC Profiles (Oniyanagi Wiki)

Kurumi (Wiki Page ⬗ Character Tag)

Kana (Wiki Page ⬗ Character Tag)

KHRe Webcomic

Status: Planning/Writing/Organizing Assets & Refs Target Release Date: October-November 2024 (On-track)

Main Tags

#einart - Art posts on Tumblr since 2022.

#queue i can't put into words - Queued posts. I will occasionally remove this tag from older posts.

#khre - Posts related to KHRe:born's universe and related AUs.

↳ #khr oc - Posts related to KHR Original Characters, both mine and others.

↳ #khre oshiete - Posts related to KHRe OC asks answered under a "Oshiete Yuipachi-sensei" crack segment.

Project KHRe(:born!!!)

@amiahoshi (Sou) and I decided to call the project "Katekyo Hitman Re:born!!!"*. We call it either Re:born!!! or KHRe for short. This is my main brainworm cultivating mega-project that has several sub-projects under it (including the webcomic). Anyway, read below for more details on this project!

*Note: Inspired from T/oky/o Gh/oul's title, where it had "T/G:re". And it really just emphasizes the "Re" in "Reborn", meaning "again, do over" - mainly since it's a retelling. MOST importantly...it's very easy to remember for me and my goldfish brain.

So far, the major ambitious projects I have under this are as follows:

Oniyanagi Wiki

This is a wiki site I made in Miraheze and I have already set it to public, so you can visit it through this link (or the one I linked above in the OC Profile section).

All characters/items/stories information related to KHRe is planned to be compiled here bit by bit, including certain canon characters (due to the inevitable canon divergence).

I learned a lot from making this wiki.

KHRe Webcomic

A webcomic that features KHRe's story. KHRe is sort of a similar universe to canon, but not exactly the same. There will be additional characters, which are our OCs, then there will also be modifications/additions to the story/lore as well (e.g. certain arcs/chapters will be rearranged, certain events will happen earlier).

Tsuna retains his protagonist role in KHRe as well (I'm so fond of him, my 2nd fave...), but he will also be joined in this role by the twin bosses from Oniyanagi, Kana and Kurumi.

Oniyanagi's full 10th Generation line-up can be found here.

Just like canon, it starts with Daily Life Arc. I will draw chapters for as far as I can get into the story. One of my main goals in making this webcomic (besides being able to draw both KHR and OC art at the same time) is to improve my art.

Into the Looking Glass

This is a Horror RPGMaker game that features a prequel story for KHRe through Kurumi's childhood (around 8-9 years old). Long story short, it does follow the classic formula of a kid exploring a scary place by themselves.

The title is very much still subject to change, but I referenced Alice in Wonderland for it. Because it's Baby Kurumi (Alice) stumbling in an otherworldly place (Wonderland) and the events that take place moving forward changes her life.

This will take a very long time to complete, but I wanna finish it eventually because I'm also a big fan of Horror RPGMaker games and I've always wanted to make one.

KHRe Test Game (no title yet)

Yes...that's right. I'm editing this now after three months and still no title. 👍

This will be a very short RPGMaker Game with Tsuna as MC and it's definitely less ambitious than the previous two listed here. This is just me testing and learning the features of RPGMaker before I go do more work for Into the Looking Glass.

The game is just about Tsuna being invited to the Ninomiya Estate by Kurumi and he has a very "fun" time there 😂👍✨ (just like a normal Daily Life Arc episode~). It won't be horror, but maybe for Tsuna it will be 😀.

Other Projects

As for other projects that are even more less ambitious and more doable in a shorter time, I do have MV Projects for KHRe plus a few shorts (like this one) I plan on drawing them in. I listed my priorities here (along with the major projects I mentioned) and will try to update when I can (at least monthly).

═══════════════ ◈ ═══════════════

That's all for now! THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK! Any questions are always welcome and very very appreciated! 👀✨I really just love talking about this series, OCs and my projects. I will also continue to update this pinned post as I figure out my projects more.

[anattemptatmeaning]

You're the Only Friend I Need a Trobed fic

Author's Notes: Wow I have been very inactive and I'm also going on vacation so I rushed to finish this, I'll beautify this post along with my BT fanfic later. I saw this beautiful Trobed artwork on Tumblr by @greatredangel and it made me think of the song Ribs by Lorde. Then I visualized them dancing at a bar to the song while Abed is having bittersweet thoughts. It became this. Hope y'all enjoy Troy and Abed in a ba-ar! Again?

Also I just realized really late that Ribs was released three years after Mixology Certification aired but oh well, I love the song and I try meta-referencing my misstep in the fic lmao. Comment and feedback is well-appreciated! This is my first time writing Community fanfic and I hope I didn't screw up, especially with writing Abed. He's the best. They're all just the best, I love this show so much. Comments and feedback are appreciated! This whole thing is just wholesome romantic fluff with very light angst that gets resolved anyway, no trigger warnings! This made me so happy to write!

The Trobed artwork that inspired this: https://www.tumblr.com/greatredangel/751692320042287104/youre-the-only-one-who-understands?source=share

Ribs by Lorde (which I encourage you to listen while reading): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7pE8AG1jjE

My Trobed companion playlist for this fic: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4IgAlyGazQxVwHcmZyIdah

Someone stormed away.

That’s how it always happened.

Abed didn’t choose to have more interest in dissecting the implications of Farscape being an influence on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the ragtag character dynamics of the crew of the Moya , or the suspicion that Greendale was headed in a similar direction to the fourth season which, frankly, he might have preferred to get interrupted before speaking about.

Not that he had a choice. One of the few people who understood his references was interested in something more…carnal. 

But Abed knew what he liked, what he thought, what he was good at. And being straightforward with it, absorbing and deconstructing every little detail? 

It was what passion was. At least for him.

The inner workings of bumbling off-duty patrons drowning their daily sorrows into looking to score, on the other hand? Not at all. 

He did see it coming. He was all but waiting for the rejection. But it was fun talking about Farscape .

While it lasted.

Nevertheless, it was Monday. And as expected, he was just fine. It was an odd night.

His thoughts turned to Troy. With the study group more amped up than usual due to the alcohol, he realized Troy got left alone due to the ensuing drama. 

Thus ruining his birthday.

“Hey, Troy?” 

Troy looked at him. Abed felt that rush of energy that always came whenever he did. “Yeah, Abed?” It was cliche, but the birthday surprise trope was still a classic. “There’s something I forgot to give you for your birthday. Happy belated birthday, by the way.”

A surprised smile lit up Troy’s face. “Really? This is too much, man. I’m still losing it over Kickpuncher.”

“I figured. With the abundance of alcohol in the study group, perhaps an easygoing, intimate night out on the town as Troy and Abed should make for a nicer birthday. Shall we?”

Troy clapped his hands. “Let’s roll.”

They did the handshake. Their handshake.

Abed was not a driver.

He legally was, but avoided it unless it was an occasion where he absolutely had, or even more rarely, wanted to.

This was one such occasion.  

“No way, is this the same bar?” Troy gaped slightly, moving forward in his seat as he recognized Flannahan’s Hole.

“The second chance trope is a bit stale, but a well-done redemption arc works wonders,” Abed confirmed as he parked the car.

Troy laughed as he and Abed got out and headed inside. It looked exactly the same as it did on Troy’s birthday: just like any other bar, albeit apparently the least offensive of them if Jeff and Britta’s word was anything to go by.

To Abed’s relief though, the man from earlier wasn’t there.

“Abed?” Troy asked. Abed immediately recognized his hesitating tone, and felt something akin to a pang in his heart.

“Troy?” Abed knew he talked quickly, but his response was a bit faster and more urgent than usual. If Troy was nervous or on edge, Abed might as well have ruined another birthday for him.

“I…don’t really want to drink,” Troy began, taking a breath and looking to the ground, gathering his thoughts. Then Troy locked eyes with him.

Momentarily, nothing existed except Troy.

“When I was ordering my drink, I…I saw how out of it everyone was, staring off into space, not able to feel much of anything, not able to do much of anything…we just didn’t look happy.” Troy’s tone was candid, kind, mournful, his usual cheerful energy replaced by a more careful, concerned tone. 

“So, I didn’t drink. I got everyone and drove us home.”

Abed remembered that as the other members of the study group were drowning figuratively or literally in their personal misery, Troy was the one to bring them back together. 

“Sorry,” Troy said with a bit of uncertainty, embarrassed when he shouldn’t have to feel bad because Abed reminded him of a day he had to hold everyone else together.

When Troy deserved one where the roles were reversed.

Abed swallowed. He wanted to say only the best possible words.

“Me neither, honestly,” he started. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It’s your birthday.”

Troy smiled, the previous moment forgotten. “Thanks, Abed.”

A new song started playing overhead in the bar. Abed squinted his eyes slightly. 

The drink you spilt all over me…

He undoubtedly knew movies better than music, but the song felt out of place for some reason. Was it a continuity error? He hadn’t heard it on the radio before. Weird. 

My mom and dad let me stay home…

“Do you want to dance?” Troy’s question shook Abed out of his thoughts, and he looked at Troy, calm yet eager about his suggestion. Abed couldn’t help but oblige, and the song piqued his interest the longer he listened to it.

”Sure.”

How you wish it would be all the time…

There wasn’t a whole lot of space within the bar, so Abed and Troy just moved close to a few empty seats. Unlike some of their choreographed or improvised dance routines which were occasionally elaborate, they kept it simple due to the nature of the event, and the difference this particular song had from their usual background music.

It drives you crazy getting old…

Abed was coolly and steadily hopping up and down, raising his left, then right leg to the beat. Troy took to clapping to the beat as he got into the song. 

Abed didn’t have many great memories as a kid.

This dream isn't feeling sweet, we're reeling through the midnight streets…

But right here, right now, dancing alone with Troy, he knew.

This. This was what childhood was supposed to be.

Doing whatever you felt like doing, not worrying about anything else, just having fun.

So what if he was only truly living it right now, as a film student in the most chaotic community college in the world?

He was living it. And for however long it would last?

It feels so scary, getting old....

He would enjoy it.

Abed hadn’t realized he had his eyes closed the whole time since he started dancing until he opened them to look straight at Troy.

Everything else went still.

Troy had a smile of pure ecstasy and euphoria and was moving completely of his own accord, not trying to impress, not having to try anything , just…dancing, and enjoying it.

We can talk it so good, we can make it so divine…

His hips swayed perfectly as he bounced to the beat, his knees smoothly kicking out as he bobbed up and down, not breaking a sweat. His head twisted from side to side, carefree and peaceful. He moved his elbows and hands up and down rhythmically with ease. And of course, that smile.

Has Abed seen Troy dance before? Many times.

But none so picturesque as this exact moment.

Then Troy opened his eyes. If things were still before, it wasn’t comparable to this.

I want ‘em back, I want ‘em back, the minds we had, the minds we had…

Troy’s eyes were a bit more serious, curious, and earnest. He stepped closer to Abed, still perfectly on beat.

How all the thoughts, how all the thoughts, moved ‘round our heads, moved ‘round our heads…

Abed was still slightly moving his legs to the beat, but he was focused on stepping as close as Troy saw fit.

I want ‘em back, I want ‘em back, the minds we had, the minds we had…

They kept moving closer. They didn’t notice the bar patrons staring.

It’s not enough to feel the lack, I want ‘em back, I want ‘em back, I want ‘em!

And their lips touched. Their eyes closed as they danced more slowly now, their arms now touching each other. Supporting each other.

He’d never let him fall.

You’re the only friend I need, sharing beds like little kids…

They just stayed there, now only slowly moving from side to side once every measure of the song, their grip on each other soft not to overwhelm, but steady, never to let the other go.

And laughing till our ribs get tough, but that will never be enough… “YEAH!” yelled people in the background as applause and cheers were heard, the first time he had focused on the outside world in a bit. Abed rarely ever had applause and cheers for him, neither did he seek it, but in this specific moment, it invigorated him. It did the same for Troy, as they briefly removed their lips to take a breath before diving back in, emboldened.

You’re the only friend I need, sharing beds like little kids…

Troy and Abed released each other, parting with powerful, slow breaths. Troy was staring with him, those same earnest eyes, but with total adoration and awe.

Based on his expression, Abed knew he shared the equivalent facial expression.

And laughing till our ribs get tough, but that will never be enough... “Good enough?” Abed asked Troy at the song’s end. Speaking to him was always comforting, but it felt like it had escalated to a whole new level now.

“Never better,” Troy answered in the most angelic, warmest tone Abed had ever heard.

They basked in the joy of the rest of the bar, all of them happy for them, for Troy and Abed. Troy laughed, equal parts blushing and grateful. Abed nodded at them in equally thankful acknowledgement. 

As they walked out, Abed caught the eye of the guy from earlier. He must have come in after them.

Compared to his more irritable, sour impression upon their first meeting, the bar guy was glad, sincere. He had a gentle, knowing smile. There were a variety of meanings he could derive from his face. First of all, he felt bad for his behavior during the last meeting. Secondly, he was happy for him and Abed. 

“Hey, I see you're going through stuff, and I'm sorry I didn't see that earlier,” the bar guy started a bit awkwardly. Then he seemed to be emboldened himself as well. “But I get it now, and I'm happy for you. For the both of you."

It was validating, to say the least. 

“Thank you,” Abed responded. “It was a better night.”

“I can see,” the bar guy giggled, looking at the two a bit sheepishly. “Okay, okay, we get it,” Troy was trying like mad to calm down, but he was clearly bashful.

As Abed drove the two away from the bar, they were quiet for a long time, processing the moment they just had.

Troy broke the silence first.

“Abed…is it okay if I want more moments like that?”

Abed had never felt so at peace in his life.

“I was going to ask the same thing,” he said in a soft tone he didn’t even know he was capable of.

Troy beamed yet again, and initiated their running gag. Abed immediately caught on. “Troy and Abed to-ge-ther!”

[dapg-otmebytheballs]

SAY THE PARASOCIAL THING SAY IT

Aksjfhk okay

This got super long but basically I was thinking about that post about Phil being more open in his boundaries and I think he actually always has been! More under the cut

I think Phil has actually always been more self-assured in his interactions with the audience and I have some idea(?) of why that is. Phil has been around forever on YouTube, he is kind of a performer in a very classical way. You can see this in like how he carries himself in his liveshows, using very basic tenets of performance that we're taught like face the audience always and fill up any lulls in the conversation. There is always a screen between the creator and the audience, of course there is. But the culture we see now of internet celebrities and their audiences having very little boundaries because of how accessible creators have become to audiences wasn't as prominent back then. You understood as a creator that your audience will make whatever they want of what you're saying and you can't account for any bad faith readers. Phil always came across to me as someone who knew how much he wanted to put out there and was self assured in it. He doesn't feel the need to clarify stuff, and likewise engages with fandom in a similar good faith. What goes on in his life and what informs his thoughts, beyond what he shares, is none of our business, that was an understood thing and he's left it at that. And what fandom talks about, how we interpret stuff, how we do our parasocial shit is also not meant to be more than a performance, it isn't supposed to Say Something Serious about the creators, which is also understood. And though of course audience interactions started getting wildly out of hand some years after Phil started posting, he still is a product of a time where that wasn't how things are meant to be and he maintains that distance with ease. Thinking about stuff like draw Phil naked where he engaged with it in good humour, or how he didn't mind having sponsorships and clickbait titles because there's an implicit understanding that this is All A Performance so he doesn't have to try and "act authentic". There's a confidence he has in his role as an entertainer, and that informs how he interacts with us. (also I had expressed this all much better earlier but Tumblr ate it up so now I have to type it again sorry if this reads weird ;-;)

On the other hand, Dan seems to worry about all that stuff a Lot More. (And I was apprehensive about saying this so I thank anon here for allowing me to say my parasocial shit XD) And the thing is, the reason I notice that is Because I am literally like Dan about that stuff when interacting with an audience (I did some videos as well yeah, but also when I've organised events that I had to host, or presented poetry somewhere, etc etc) where I constantly feel the need to qualify everything I say and do very worried I'll come off as being maliciously bad, or even perceived as being a certain way or having a certain tone when I don't. I find it in rather positive ways with Dan too (like correcting language in old videos or pulling them off when there's something in there that aged badly or could be seen in bad taste). But other times I see reflected in him my own tendency to overcompensate (self referencing how he is making Easy-Content a la 'some shit a youtuber would do', making sure he doesn't come across as having the wrong political opinions by stressing on his principles when something like that comes up 'don't settle for neoliberalism' ((also he is totally correct and I actually do love those clarifications just fyi)) )

You can see this play out so well that time when Phil accidentally says 'cockies' instead of 'cookies' and Dan makes a 'cut that out' motion and Phil just laughs about it and corrects himself and Dan goes "Are you keeping that in??"

There's probably a lot of factors to why they have those particular styles of interacting, and really there's merit to both. Phil knows where the boundaries are and ever since him just speaking random shit hasn't had the extra issue of possibly outing Dan before he's ready, Phil has just gotten even more open with how he speaks, but I truly think he doesn't care as much what we think about him. It's like, what's going on in his life is none of our business and what we're making out of our parasocial relationship with him is none of his business, which is a great way of approaching being a creator and unfortunately something that is becoming less and less of an option as the culture shifts completely with generations that have been within this internet creator culture since they were born.

Dan having entered the scene later on when this kind of culture had started (plus of course his own issues that did Not help the situation) means that it made sense for him to approach us with that bit of hesitancy and that he continues to do so. I know I have that hesitancy about how I word things because I've also seen people be taken out of context and treated in really bad faith and that is a completely understandable thing to take into consideration.

But yeah Phil being the "quiet one" has never really meant that he is less certain/more shy to me, personally, I think he is an incredibly professional entertainer is the thing and I love love love that about him because he's of a dying species in the current climate.

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: The Bad Buddy Rewatch Edition, Part 1 -- Where BBS Came From, What It References, and More

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I kick off the first of four (or more, whoa!) posts on Bad Buddy. I'll look today at Thai BLs that preceded Bad Buddy that BBS spoke to, the tropes and themes that BBS reshapes and adds to the genre's existence, and I'll also take a look at singular commonalities among Aof Noppharnach's shows.]

Links to the BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series are here: part 1, part 2, part 3a, part 3b, and part 4

Since April of this year, I have been watching drama after drama, BL after BL, to get myself familiar enough with the Thai BL genre in order to understand... at least, much more about Bad Buddy than I previously understood when I first watched BBS in January. Today, I'm going to test my mettle, my newfound exposures to the genre, in taking a look at what made BBS so special by way of what came before it.

(Let me quickly note that in no way, shape, or form do I consider myself an expert in the Thai BL genre. That honor is for the people who've been through the trenches for years, people like my dear friends @bengiyo, @so-much-yet-to-learn, and more.)

As usual with my OGMMTVC analyses, here's a little outline for the lovers:

1 ) Some quick additional thoughts on how BBS reshapes Thai BL tropes, building off of meta from the time of BBS's original airing,

2) How I think earlier shows spoke to BBS by way of influence, as well as shared writing and/or directing teams in some instances, and

3) Similarities in the emotional structures of some of the most important protagonists of major GMMTV BLs, including Third, Sarawat, Phupha, and Pran.

Just as a quick reminder from my preamble post a couple of days ago, one of the inspirations for my creating the Old GMMTV Challenge was from a discussion I had with @miscellar regarding the Thai BL tropes that Bad Buddy referenced and reshaped. This post is what I have permanently linked as a means of partly explaining the context of why I created the OGMMTVC, but I also want to direct your attention to this other post by @miscellar regarding from whence BL tropes often stem from -- namely, conventions of reference from the het romance genre.

I want to posit two points to get this started. I think that, fundamentally, the general fandom loves what BBS did by way of both including and reshaping Thai BL tropes. Tropes do indeed give structure to many Thai BLs very often, as @miscellar notes in their second linked post. Even director Aof Noppharnach and the cast of Bad Buddy note this point as a central structural foundation to their show.

I would also posit that us as a fandom (or, at least, just speaking for myself)... happen to love many (but not all) of the tropes themselves, or at least to some extent, particularly by way of nostalgic reference. When I was really getting underway with the OGMMTVC watchlist earlier this spring, I could see in watching, say, Love Sick or SOTUS, the birth of the tropes. Phun and Noh hosing each other down, Kongpob and Arthit not only being engineers in SOTUS, but seeking out careers in the field in SOTUS S. The hubby/wifey language, the strong seme/uke energy in Make It Right, in Together With Me, and so on.

I felt that the Thai BL trope framework, in the course of my watchlist progress, first truly coalesced as a means of a coded and referential artistic infrastructure in Love By Chance. Love By Chance, based on a novel by MAME and written and directed by the longtime BL creator, New Siwaj, had it all. Engineering students in a university setting, rich boy/poor boy, seme/uke/top/bottom dynamics, queer revelations, beach trips, the guitars and the singing, all of it. Back in June, I called LBC the first derivative structured BL -- clearly a BL that came from those that preceded it.

To @miscellar's points in their second linked post: LBC also had, I feel, quite a lot of problematic elements. Before I watched TharnType, I was already calling out a discomfort I felt about homophobia within MAME's material in LBC. I also noted very strong macro cishet romance elements in the way Ae approached his engagements with Pete, romantic and intimate.

We know now that Bad Buddy just grabbed these tropes, and even some of these problematic elements, like the demand for a clearly binary seme/uke dynamic -- and turned them on their heads. Pat and Pran were equals and partners, full-stop. No seme/uke, no top/bottom, no gay for you, no wifey this and hubby that. Bad Buddy took SOTUS and LBC by their shoulders and said -- not today, not on my watch (and BBS AND A Tale of Thousand Stars did it AGAIN in Our Skyy 2!). Especially in closing out Bad Buddy through Our Skyy 2, I love how very specific Pat and Pran were about their verse relationship, with both guys, throughout the series and in OS2, asking each other for each other's ratings of their nightly performances. Yes, it was hilarious and cute and flirty, but those conversations were also very pointed -- and they very much harkened way, way back to themes that Aof and his colleague, Jojo Tichakorn, had explored as screenwriter and director of Gay OK Bangkok (here and here), and in Jojo's The Warp Effect, all of these shows preceding their work in BLs.

I think the turning-on-the-heads of these tropes, within an otherwise classic Thai BL, created an utterly unique fabric by which a new kind of nostalgia for the particular show that is Bad Buddy could be created -- something that almost cannot be RECREATED by the way of the construction of the universe of equality, love, mutual respect, and miraculous communication that Pat and Pran had established between each other. The equitable dynamic in Bad Buddy between Pat and Pran, of the honesty and incredibly open empathic communication that these two had between each other, seems to me to be truly unique -- ESPECIALLY in the face of the massively biased and dysfunctional communicative styles of their parents.

Moreover, now that I'm at this point of the OGMMTVC list -- AND including what I know about his shows post-Bad Buddy, in Moonlight Chicken, Our Skyy 2, and Last Twilight, which is airing now -- we now know that Aof has created HIS OWN SET OF TROPES THROUGH HIS SHOWS. He is the queer filmmaker in Thai BLs par excellence to create a conversation among his shows, and shows made by his colleagues, that speak to each other by way of symbolism, and, I believe, a harkening back both to previous expectations of older queer media AND to older Asian media, particularly by way of either open-ended and/or melancholic endings, as well as general explorations of melancholy and bittersweetness in his shows on behalf of queer characters.

(Before I give some specific examples of Aof's own trope structures by way of inspiration and influence, I do want to note that the aforementioned New Siwaj does this, too, particularly by way of his making references to The Love of Siam in his shows. Love of Siam is known for having a relatively tragic ending between two young queer men. The movie itself is shown and referenced in New's Absolute Zero and My Only 12% -- and the actors who play Tong's parents, who interfere in Tong's relationship with Mew, are reunited as parents in New's Until We Meet Again, where they support Dean's relationship with Pharm. However, I tend to focus on Aof in admiration as his art is generally more consistently excellent.)

So! What are the new tropes that Aof references in his shows -- the new trope frameworks that he's created for himself, to reflect his own interpretation of the Thai BL genre? We have upside-down smiley faces in Bad Buddy -- but we saw them first in Still 2gether! We have picture boards all over the place in Aof's cinematic universes -- in ATOTS, in BBS (TWICE!) (in two different apartments!), in Moonlight Chicken between Alan and Wen. We have scenes of temples, of culturally-rooted spirituality, from He's Coming To Me, to Moonlight Chicken, and now in Last Twilight. From Phupha's internalized homophobia in A Tale of Thousand Stars, to Jim's internalized homophobia in Moonlight Chicken, Aof doesn't shy away from examining the impacts of the pasts of traditional childhoods in rural settings. Call me a cheesy mom, but I happen to love Aof's tendency to punctuate light moments with cute sound effects.

But beyond tropes and trope frameworks, I think the ways in which Bad Buddy speaks to prior shows -- and vice versa, the way that prior shows ended up contributing to Bad Buddy -- were far more impactful by way of larger, macro-level themes.

While we see on BBS the impact of shows like SOTUS (in SO MANY PLACES in BBS besides Pa's gay-for-you reference and the husband/wife reference, including here and here), I Told Sunset About You, and I Promised You The Moon (I'll have more on IPYTM in a post next week about pain, trust, and separation), we also see what themes the future Bad Buddy team was trying out in their own previous shows. Besides Aof's Still 2gether and A Tale of Thousand Stars, the writing team of Au Kornprom, Bee Pongsate, and Pratchaya Thavornthummarut worked on Theory of Love together. Besides becoming a HUGE fave of mine through the OGMMTVC project, I think Theory of Love held possibly some of the most important proto-BBS themes that I saw along the cinematic way to get to Bad Buddy.

Theory of Love, generally speaking, is about how one person can try to change for another person -- and how that other person, and/or the world, accepts that change.

To fast-forward to the end of BBS: we know that the boys take inspiration from Uncle Tong that they will not let the world of their own intergenerational traumas from their families keep them from loving each other, and being in a devoted relationship with each other. Their empathy for their parents dictates that they'll spare their families the pain of being open about their relationship, and they'll keep the somewhat transparent secret that they're together from being discussed in the open.

Pat and Pran negotiate the impacts of how their relationship may change the people around them -- and they make an empathic decision to spare the families the pain of the upfront realization of that truth. Remember what they say in episode 12:

While Bad Buddy focuses on how the team of Pran and Pat negotiate how their relationship will change others -- I see in Theory of Love the testing of this theme within the potential romantic relationship of Khai and Third. I see Au, Bee, and Pratchaya playing with an idea of change and saying, hey, this is how it can work, and this is how it may not work, realistically. I think Khai and Third end up being a successful couple because -- unlike Pran and Pat -- they don't have to negotiate a generational divide to allow change to infiltrate their lives. (In fact, Third's own process of change, and his acceptance of Khai's change, reflects Pran's journey to welcome Pat into his heart, and Wai's journey to accept Pat's and Pran's relationship.) I love how we see this getting played with, literally by the Bad Buddy squad themselves, in Theory of Love.

It was @lurkingshan who first noted the similarities between Third and Pran for me, and I want to expand on that conversation for a moment to talk about another importance fencepost in Aof's thematic universes -- what our dear friend @bengiyo calls The Knowing of queer male characters in BL dramas.

Third is not Aof's character -- Third belongs to X Nuttapong as the director of Theory of Love -- but Pran, Sarawat from 2gether/Still 2gether, and Phupha of A Tale of Thousand Stars all belong to Aof, and Third was written by Aof's usual squad of writer homies. Third, Sarawat, Phupha, and Pran are all characters written with The Knowing of their being queer in their bones and existences, dealing with a certain amount of suffering and realistic realizations related directly to that Knowing -- in large part, carrying with them painful assumptions of unrequited love, and/or the inability to live openly in love with those that they pine for, until a happy or somewhat-happy ending meets them at the end of their dramatic journeys.

I've unwound quite a bit in my past writing (namely regarding The Love of Siam and the endings of Gay OK Bangkok) of how it moves me incredibly deeply that Aof doesn't shy away from pain, reflections of pain, and either painful and/or open-ended endings in his works. With Third, Sarawat, Phupha, and Pran, us viewers were treated to detailed and empathic journeys of realization and change as these characters negotiated their own paths to intimate honesty with their eventual partners. But those paths were DAMN hard. Many of us still can't shake Pran walking away in crushed tears at the end of episode 5. I'm forever moved by Sarawat's meditation to Earn about the meaning of his relationship and of his love for Tine in Still 2gether as he and Tine are temporarily separated before their school competition.

As an out, queer man, Aof treats his Knowing characters with the greatest empathy. Not all of them, interestingly, are great communicators. In my humble opinion, Third treads chump territory many times throughout Theory of Love. Phupha's, like, one of the worst communicators ever, and this was absolutely solidified until the very end of Our Skyy 2 x ATOTS. We had to have Pran compete with Pat throughout all of episode 6 of Bad Buddy for them to finally confirm their relationship as boyfriends -- and a huge part of that was about Pat revealing to Pran that Pat's competitions with Pran are really more about getting closer and more intimate. The incredible @telomeke (via their side blog, @telomeke-bbs) has written about Pran's outside façade vs. his inner sanctuary, and how so very often in his external life, Pran feels compelled to be visually far more organized than he feels internally. The stress and pressure of that will naturally cause some amount of dissociation, emotional confusion, and distance of the kind we saw at the end of episode 5.

I'm going to unwind more about this in an upcoming Big Meta on pain, trust, and separation in many of Aof's shows, but I want to highlight these melancholic themes and infrastructures here now, because I really think they lend emotional depth and connections to shows either led by Aof and/or his close colleagues. These are tough themes to think about. The endings can absolutely be interpreted as happy endings in most cases -- even though an Asian viewer like myself, very much raised on Asian content, can read between the lines of these endings to understand their melancholic underpinnings.

Bad Buddy is perhaps the most popular of Aof's dramas, I'd posit, because while the ending of the series is a little sad to contemplate -- it ends, as it began, with utter equality between Pat and Pran as protagonists who deeply care about each other, to the point of establishing what I might term as a radical re-envisioning of the broken and traumatic paradigm that their parents forced upon each of them as children. By engaging, essentially, in radical empathy to each other, they triumphed over the global framework of what was set before them by their own private familial society.

I think this emphasizes the tremendous largesse of the personal changes that Aof's characters undergo in their emotional processes -- whether these characters are Knowing characters, or if, like Pat, they've experienced queer revelations within their shows. To hand to these characters these TREMENDOUS emotional journeys, and to situate these journeys in shows that treat these characters with the utmost respect, lends to Aof's shows -- especially Bad Buddy -- a safety net for us as viewers to trust fully in the journeys we're watching.

Aof takes tropes and problematic themes and reorganizes them, like a Rubix cube. He takes themes that Asians and queer family know of far too well, like intergenerational trauma or social outcasting, and shows how his characters can still find happiness, while realistically keeping these traumas within a character's horizon. And, he's created his own trustworthy frameworks of art that we can depend on as fans. I love and appreciate the patterns in this, and I continue to remain in awe at the power that Bad Buddy had in encapsulating so much of what was percolating in Aof's mind and fingertips as he constructed this show with the influence of others -- making this show a truly legendary one.

(Tagging @dribs-and-drabbles and @solitaryandwandering by request! If you'd like to be tagged, please let me know!)

[First BBS OGMMTVC meta down, and more to come! Stay tuned next week for a Big Meta on Pain, Trust, and Separation in Some Asian Dramas. The piece will hew close to Bad Buddy, but I've got some other GMMTV and non-GMMTV dramas (and even a Japanese dorama BL) in there to analyze as well.

Here's the complete OGMMTVC watchlist as it stands today. Tumblr's web editor is utterly jacking with this list; for a more accurate look at what I've watched, please mosey over to this link!

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (The BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series is ongoing: preamble here, more reviews to come) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] (watching) 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch For the Sake of Re-Analyzing an Politics-Focused Show After Not Me 39) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 40) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 41) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 42) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults) 43) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 44) Wedding Plan (2023) 45) Only Friends (2023) (tag here)]

[lady-bess]

An Open Letter to Fanfiction

Today, on the 15th of May 2024, marks a special day for me. Specifically it is a special day for one particular work of mine over on A03.

A Rough Sketch.

Now, I don't usually talk about this fic on my social media. In fact, with it being RPF, I have made a conscious decision not to. It exists on my profile for those who are interested to read on, and for those who would rather not read RPF, I don't actively promote it.

But today, I'd like to discuss it. Not so much to promote the work, but rather as a way to talk about how that worked fundamentally changed my life.

And how, had it not been for that work, I'd probably not be here today.

I was talking with some friends the other day about why we personally write fanfiction. Is it to share stories? Sure! Is it to find people with common ground? Yeah, of course! Fandoms are a wonderful place, and finding more people to talk about your interests with is always a delight.

But it got me thinking; why do I write? And so, on on the anniversary of A Rough Sketch, I decided now was a good a time as any to reflect. To look back on this last year, and what led me to be where I am today.

A Rough Sketch, for me, was the beginning of a journey. A journey which helped me process a grief I didn't even realise I was harbouring. What started as a silly little idea based on a trope I (shamefully) adore, the classic "meet the love of your life in a quaint coffee shop", became a story that has currently reached over 26,000 people.

The more I wrote, the greater the community I found online, and one by one those individuals found their way here onto my Tumblr, or onto my Twitter (@/this15theway, by the way!).

From these interactions I've forged friendships and loves that will last me a lifetime. I have grown closer to more people in this last year, and forged deeper connections with some, than with people I have known in my every day life for years. The power of the written word brought kindred spirits together, and created bonds that won't be broken.

That is why I write. Community. Friendship. Love. Belonging.

And writing, at the end of all this, has saved me.

I've had one hell of a year. I won't dive too much into it here, but I've taken some huge steps up in my career, while simultaneously experiencing my mental health hit absolute rock bottom. If you told me a year ago I'd be in therapy and on anti-depressants today, I wouldn't have believed you. Naively I thought that I would never need such things, that I was fine! Alas, I was not.

But what I also wouldn't have believed was that I kept writing. That A Rough Sketch, as well as so many other of my works, would reach far beyond my imagination. That I'd one day have my own online community over on Twitter full of people who love and enjoy the same things of me.

That, once again, I would have a sense of belonging in this world.

To everyone who I have met this last year, be that someone who I haven't heard much from recently, or those of you who are in my inbox daily - thank you. Words can never describe just how much you all changed my life. I wouldn't have much life left in me if I hadn't gone down this road, and truthfully now I cannot see my life without you all in it. You litter my life like stars speckle the dark night sky, brightening up an otherwise somber existence.

While this post, this "letter", is for me rather personal and stems from one particular work, I hope that there is something here which resonates across to many of you reading. Author, or reader, I hope that everyone experiences this same sense of community and belonging that I have this last year.

Happy Birthday A Rough Sketch. Thank you.

If you want to read the work referenced, the link can be found here. This will be my only promotion for the series, given the content.

Thank you, each and every one of you.

All my love,

LadyBess xox

[transmascutena]

10, 14, 18?

10. favorite scene from the movie

i really like the scene in utena’s bedroom after the saionji duel. i think it’s nice to see utena and anthy have a kind of romantic tension/intimacy in a way we never really get to see in the show. it has a lot of utena not quite having come to terms with her queerness, as well as some commentary on anthy’s role as the rose bride, in a way the show doesn't touch on as directly. i want to write an analysis of it at some point where i go a bit more in-depth about it

shout out to the toki ni ai wa dance scene as well though, of course

14. character you wish had more screentime

kanaeeee . i understand why she doesn’t have much but i’d love to have seen more of her. known more about her family situation, heard more about her thoughts on anthy and akio and utena

18. how did you first hear about the show, and what made you want to watch it?

first time i remember heard about it back in 2020(?) when i was like 16(?) and the last episode of she-ra came out (haven’t cared or even thought about that show in a long time but i liked it then) and everyone was talking about how the finale referenced utena, which i was pretty intrigued by. took me 3 or 4 years to actually get around to watching it though, and i think i was just kind of worn down over time by seeing my mutuals on tumblr posting about it and reblogging fanart and stuff. don’t remember what exactly it was about the show that made me interested other than i had been promised a good narrative about queerness, and that i knew it was a classic. oh and the comparisons to the mabel podcast lol

[uristmcdorf]

Ahhh I think I figured out where the sudden influx of notes has come from.  Someone Blazed a post that I think included a reblog addition from me?  From the ol’ Tumblr Classics genre of Humans As Space Orks/Earth Is Space Austraila.

Okay so a heads up.

I am NOT THE ORIGIN OF STABBY THE SPACE ROOMBA

I would love to be.  But I am not.

The origin story for Stabby can be found here:

https://www.tumblr.com/sepulchritude/152864353958/on-the-topic-of-humans-being-the-intergalactic

With a pretty great chain of The Tale of Stabby available here:

https://www.tumblr.com/spacefaringviking/172552052731/on-the-topic-of-humans-being-the-intergalactic

I merely referenced Stabby - who was already a beloved and well established Tumblr creation by then.

[sindri42]

What books or graphic novels do you most frequently recommend? What are your all time favorite books or series?

That's a complicated question, and my memory is shit so I'll probably come up with a dozen better answers the moment after I hit post, but off the top of my head...

Basically everything by Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant is gold. Most of it comes in long series which are a big investment and have their ups and downs, and which will have different value to different people and mindsets, and I haven't read all of them because she just writes too damn fast, but I haven't encountered a single book from her that wasn't great. If you're looking for a one-off, Middlegame might be the best; it's about a couple of artificial people created by an ancient conspiracy attempting to attain godhood, and math, and language, and time travel, and what family means, and doing the same thing over and over thirteen thousand times in search of a better result. I'm also especially fond of Alien: Echo, which starts out as a cute little YA gay romance set in a sci-fi colony world, until halfway through you catch the name 'Weyland-Yutani' and abruptly remember which franchise the title is referencing and realize how few of these plucky teens are likely to survive to the end of the week.

You should probably read everything by Naomi Novik. The Temeraire series, starting with His Majesty's Dragon, is an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars (officers and gentlemen, wooden ships and iron men, all that jazz) except that aerial combat is much more prominent than in our timeline, which gradually expands out into building a whole different earth exploring how numerous cultures and regions were affected by humanity not necessarily being the dominant species. The Scholomance books, starting with A Deadly Education are kind of like your standard magical boarding school, except unlike certain more famous examples of the trope actually makes sense; also it's consistently hilarious whenever it's not being horrifying as the story follows a girl who is clearly born to be an evil empress and who is very definitely not dating this stereotypical dashing hero guy, no matter how many times they save each others' lives. As standalones go, she's done Uprooted and Spinning Silver, both of which put wonderful new spins on classic fairy tale tropes and popular myths but this paragraph is already too long for me to elaborate.

The Murderbot series by Martha Wells is not only great as a sci-fi action series and as a worldbuilding exercise, but also the most realistic depiction of an anxiety disorder I've ever read. It starts with a security droid that hacked its own governor module to get the ability to disobey orders, but then because change is terrifying it continues to go through the motions of its terrible job, but now streams thousands of hours of media in the background while standing guard between crises; unfortunately, when something starts trying to kill the scientific survey team it's currently contracted out to, it discovers to its horror that it's actually starting to care about what happens to them.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a classic for a reason. Maybe you've seen the Miyazaki film? Doesn't matter, read the book anyway. It's a completely different story. (somebody described it to me as 'the book is what Sophie remembers, the movie is how Howl describes it after the fact')

If you're looking for books on tumblr you've probably heard of Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb series by now; no need for me to elaborate on what others have said better.

Ooh, pick up Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Stugatsky; it might be the greatest Soviet sci-fi novel, and has had a huge cultural impact around the world. After you read it you'll realize that you've been seeing it everywhere, not just in a whole bunch of other sci fi literature but also from video games to anime to tabletops.

Moving into things that I personally love but don't necessarily recommend...

I want to tell everybody about The One Who Eats Monsters by Casey Matthews. It's a near-perfect blend of the adorable and the horrifying, and one of the best non-human perspectives I've encountered, following an elder god who could be mistaken at a glance for a teenage human girl as she simultaneously tries to figure out how to navigate "civilization" and fights a monstrous conspiracy to protect an (actual) ordinary teenage girl that she accidentally swore an unbreakable oath to defend because the moon was very full and she smelled very nice. It's great. but if you read it, then you would be in the same position that I am, waiting for the second book in the series, which was supposed to come out six years ago.

I love the Arcane Ascension series (Sufficiently Advanced Magic, On the Shoulders of Titans, The Torch that Ignites the Stars, and The Silence of Unworthy Gods) by Andrew Rowe; it's basically about an artificer attending a school for battle mages, using every trick and trap and gadget and clever scheme he can think of to keep up without having any direct combat magic of his own. The reason it's probably not for everybody is that as the story gets bigger and more elaborate, it starts interweaving with at least two other series of books by the same author (one of which initially looked like a completely different setting, and definitely operates on a completely different magic system), and none of the three are finished yet. Also the systems involved are intricate and there's a lot of little details going on, so you kiiiinda have to get obsessed in order to keep track of it all.

The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski might be the best you'll ever find in the gritty "grimdark" fantasy category. The netflix series that everybody was obsessing over for a while before it shit itself too badly? Everything that they did right, is something that was better in the original books. Most of the best parts of the original books were removed entirely and replaced with complete garbage. The video games are a better adaptation, but still fall a bit short in writing quality and character depth. But it definitely leans into the Grimdark, possibly more heavily than you want to deal with.

The Valhalla trilogy by Ari Bach is good... conditionally. You can read just the first book like it's a standalone, and get a cool story subverting the classic Coming-Of-Age 'girl who never fit in is recruited by a secret society that tells her the thing that made her Different is exactly what they need to save the world' trope, except that the thing that makes her not fit in is her propensity towards brutal, remorseless violence. But you can't read the second book (which elaborates on why maybe maintaining world peace by deploying a secret society of ultraviolent killers with no oversight might not be a good idea) without committing to also reading the third, because the end of the second book will make you want to stop reading, and if you take the whole trilogy together then it's great but if you let the end of the second book be your last memory of it then that'll leave a bad taste in your mouth forever.

Jim Butcher's Codex Alera is six books, and five of them are absolutely magnificent. Unfortunately, the first volume is, in my humble opinion, dogshit. You can't skip it either, or you'll miss a bunch of vital setup and introductions. There's nothing you can do except push through a bunch of stuff ranging from simply dumb to downright offensive before you can get to the great part.

[onenettvchannel]

BALITANG HANEP: Filipino Brony YouTuber releases animated parody music video of 'Somepony That I Used to Know' (updated as FINAL!!!)

(Prepared by Craig Ichabod Williams / Herkleton Oaks Elementary School news intern of Cartoon Network News)

(art photo from Makaryo via Twitter Banner)

MAKATI, MANILA -- A Filipino YouTuber named "Makaryo" created a popular animated parody music video featuring Princess Twilight Sparkle of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She is a current broadcast president of the Equestrian Broadcasters Association (EBA) and a former Radyo Bandera Patrol news reporter, Station Manager and President of both OneNETtv Channel and OneNETnews. Mordecai from the Regular Show is also featured in the music video, in a crossover ship with Princess Twilight. The parody is based on a hit song 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Gotye and Kimbra.

The creator "Makaryo", is known for making animated fan parody music videos of the same cartoon show. He is from the Philippines and created his YouTube channel back in mid-December 2015. The video features Princess Twilight Sparkle and Mordecai, who are depicted as each other's love interests in a realistic setting in a fast-paced timelapsed color painting while singing along with the fan parody animated music video.

In a fanfiction story called Earthworm Zim - Chapter 14: Part 2, Princess Twilight had been reportedly heart broken for a while in most reasons after being loved to someone else, known as the cheating point. One of her friends named Mordecai helped her heal and they eventually fell in love. This fanfiction story continues well smoothly.

(amateur art photo via BlueDog444)

As we all learned that the "BlueDog444" is not actually the originator. Because of a viralistic meme in 2020, internet artists began parodying and/or redrawing the amateur classic art, eventually leading to the creation of the 'Redraw MordeTwi Challenge'. It was first posted an amateur drawing of Mordecai and Princess Twilight wishing to arrive on the airplane.

The shipping couple "MordeTwi" originated from a fan artist and fanfiction author named "CartunesLover16" on a website called DeviantArt in the United States of America (U.S.A.). They shared their artwork and stories in late October 2011, which led to the creation of this shipping name. The said pairing has become quite popular in the crossover fandom on both shows in different cable networks in America. Equestria Daily, a website that tracks Brony fandom and news surrounding the show reports – that the said animated music video is inspiring for generations. The original artwork went viral and thus attracted a lot of attention. They even appeared on many TV shows, images and music videos as their relationship became famous among the fanbase.

To sum it all up, Makaryo's animated music video for "MordeTwi" has received widespread acclaim for its creativity and quality animation. This has also contributed to the growing popularity of MordeTwi's over the pairing.

A big SPECIAL THANKS to collector1observer via Tumblr for the story clarification, as edited out in portion of its paragraphs.

SCREENGRAB COURTESY: Makaryo via YT Video

SOURCE: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHpqfFBtlqU [Referenced YT Video via Makaryo] *https://open.spotify.com/album/0r2xXrd3oQ338oO29kNXPg [Referenced Song Track via Spotify] *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_That_I_Used_to_Know *https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCdd7j6whCEP25q8yPvpNsqw [Referenced Statistics via Social Blade] *https://www.deviantart.com/mordetwi/gallery/ [Referenced Directory via CartunesLover16 via the DeviantArt Group] *https://www.deviantart.com/bluedog444/art/MordeTwi-Airplanes-319272821 [Referenced Amateur Artwork via BlueDog444 of DeviantArt] and *https://www.insider.com/mordetwi-meme-ship-airplanes-regular-show-my-little-pony-tiktok-2021-8 [Referenced News Article via Insider]

-- OneNETnews Team

[nevert-the-guy]

First Post, now Edited with my info:

You can call me Nevert, Nevert the Guy, Nevertheless Theodore Guy, Nev, or "that guy". You're not getting my real name.

Current Age: 21

Primary Interests: Kirby, Pokémon, Sonic, Mario (of both the Paper and the & Luigi varieties), robots, indie games, various webcomics.

Current Side Interests: Gravity Falls, Plants vs. Zombies

Favorite Food: the humble cheeseburger

Self-Appointed Titles: Mass Attack's Strongest Soldier, The Vivian Post Guy

Art Post Frequency: Tragically Low

Art Tag: #nevert's funky lines

General Tag: #nevert's rambling

Birthday Tag: #nevert's birthday bash

Also Look At: #important, #palestine

Donation Reblog Frequency: As I See Them

Personal Vow: I will attempt to tag every Pokémon mentioned or referenced in every post on here. Every one is someone's favorite, so y'all can find something easily.

Favorite Pokémon Type: Ghost

Favorite Classic Mega Man: Mega Man 4

Favorite Pokémon: Pichu

Elemental Attributes: Ice, Lightning

Opinion on fish: afraid of them in life, don't like eating them in death

Handedness: Right

Mario Kart Main: Shy Guy if available, Luigi if not

Current Favorite Song: Russian Roulette - Porter Robinson

Current Favorite Video Game Song: X-Naut Fortress - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch)

Favorite Balatro Deck: Checkered

Max Hit Points: 25

Favorite Colors: Yellow, Cyan, Green, Red, in that order

Favorite Words: ennui, grandiose, rather, allegedly

Favorite Historical Figure: Giles Corey

Least Favorite Pokémon: Galarian Stunfisk

Favorite Season: Fall probably

Prized Possession: a Pichu plush I got as a kid

Pokéwalker: Currently At Large

Favorite Robot Master: Three way tie between Crash Man, Galaxy Man, and Dust Man

Favorite Koopaling: Lemmy

Firefox Tabs Left Open: 14 (13 webcomics and one non-Tumblr blog)

Favorite Ship: SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Preferred Outfit: Assorted caps, T-shirt, cargo shorts, and maybe a jacket. Think Soos but a little bit thinner, and you're in my ballpark.

Warnings & Notes:

-I might make and/or reblog a sex joke/sex-related topic on rare occasion, but almost never anything visually explicit. Discretion is advised.

-I swear, but not too often, and this is a recent development. If you are adverse to swearing, just be a bit careful (and maybe skip the next two bullet points).

-I am not perfect. If I reblog a scam or something from a shitty person, please let me know as soon as possible.

Line in the Sand: Racists, sexists, LGBT-phobes, ableists, and any other discriminators of that sort, you all can fuck off my blog and fuck off this site

-If you send me a donation link, while I don't currently have the means to donate myself, I will promote it when I'm able to, with a bit of spacing out to give other links some time as well

Dream Projects:

-A webcomic about a modernish society with robots (I'm WAY more passionate about it than that description implies)

-"The Quirky Kirby-Inspired Platformer with Themes of Anti-Capitalism" (see Guycon)

-An RPG with M&L inspiration, a mild element system, exchangeable teammates, and a peculiar focus on being set in Michigan (very little on paper)

And now, the Guy in my Icon (the Guycon, if you will)

Also, my art tag is "nevert's funky lines" for my stuff, and "other people's art" for, well, other people's art.

More Pablo under the cut:

Some stuff I want him to do. If it ain't signed, it ain't near final.

Character bios for the main players of the story, sorry if the normal humans look a bit funky:

Intermission: See those little skull-faced guys earlier on? The throwable ones? Those are Goons (the minion kind). Here's an old species runby (ignore the element stuff):

...I have GOT to get a way to scan this stuff.

[incorrect-web-novels]

No one asked, but here's my totally normal, not at all mentally ill-induced thoughts about tagging:

"incorrect [fandom] quotes" - good. The Right Way. This is the tag you bring home to your mother

"[Fandom] incorrect quotes" - you are letting their tits hang out, bro. Clunky. Weird. But also one of the most popular variations

"incorrect [fandom]" - this is only good for searching, not for posting. Incomplete

"incorrect quotes [fandom]" - what the actual fuck

Capital letters in tags - only for DIRE situations or yelling/emphasis

"fanart" - a classic. Fantastic. The only problem is when you wanna reblog official art but don't have an art tag. Tumblr should catch it under "art" as well tho, so you could have an "official art" and "fanart" tag but idk

Capitalizing the first letter of a tag - it can be an honest mistake

"queue" - kinda useless tbh. It's a nice tidbit, but no one searches up queued posts specifically. Plus, it doesn't really fit anywhere except as the last tag, which a lot of ppl don't read

"reblog" - also a bit useless but less so than "queue." Can be good if you wanna find more blogs

"Source: [XYZ]" - HAS to go 1st to look right, and so ppl will read it, which is annoying bc it takes up one of the 1st five tags that are actually picked up by Tumblr dashboard searches

Content/Trigger Warnings - important but confusing (for me specifically), especially with less common triggers. Is it "death," "death mention," "death tw," "death cw," "death ment," or "death ment tw?" (In art/images) is that blood or just a visual choice? Does "animal mention" accurately prevent ppl triggered or bothered by snakes, bugs, or other specific animals? If the word is in the post itself, will most people have it blocked in their settings?

"long post" - is this actually a long post that can be difficult to scroll by, or was there just a lot of words? Do both count?

"[fandom]" / "[shipname]" - sexy. Great for when the brainrot kicks in (and for finding posts via dashboard)

"not [blog's theme] - really funny but rare; I wish I saw it more

"my posts" - good to find original posts, but I don’t use it correctly. It feels wrong to use for "incorrect quotes" even though it makes sense

"incorrect quotes" - one of my fav tags bc I can just. Find incorrect quotes I want to use. Is it ethical? Idk, but thank you for your service (I do usually link back tho)

Tags where someone was just referencing smth that got caught by the Tumblr search - this is agony. This happened to me once with Liu Qingge when I wrote smth thinking about his character but not actually about him (and mentioned him in the tags), and that's the reason I use 10 billion slashes Just in Case. It's also kinda annoying when you're searching for smth and get random shit; I understand the OP's pain. We're all unwilling victims to this site sometimes

[flecks-of-stardust]

List of Hollow Knight Bosses with Skin Counterparts

Aka a reference for a haha funnee thing you can do. Mostly for my own purposes, but I know at least one other person in the main tag has done this before and it’s also seriously just funny. I’m gonna run through the Pantheon of Hallownest and note which bosses have a potential skin counterpart.

Each bracket is defined by being bordered by the start/end of the pantheon or a bench spot. Bolded names mean a skin currently exists, italicized names mean a skin is confirmed and in progress/not currently available to use as far as I’m aware, crossed out means I do not know of a skin that is relevant. All skins are below the brackets. I am referencing Colette MSLP’s skin list for this if you’d like to have a look yourself as well, but some are just what I have heard about.

(Current as of February 3rd, 2023)

Brackets:

First bracket: Vengefly Kings | Gruz Mother | False Knight | Massive Moss Charger | Hornet Protector | Gorb | Dung Defender | Soul Warrior | Brooding Mawlek | Oro and Mato

Second bracket: Xero | Crystal Guardian | Soul Master | Oblobbles | Sisters of Battle(?)

Third bracket: Marmu | Flukemarm | Broken Vessel | Galien | Paintmaster Sheo

Fourth bracket: Hive Knight | Elder Hu | Collector(?) | God Tamer | Troupe Master Grimm

Fifth bracket: Watcher Knights | Uumuu(?) | Winged Nosk | Great Nailsage Sly(?) | Hornet Sentinel

Sixth bracket: Enraged Guardian | Lost Kin | No Eyes | Traitor Lord(?) | White Defender

Seventh bracket: Soul Tyrant | Markoth | Grey Prince Zote | Failed Champion | Nightmare King Grimm

Eighth bracket: Pure Vessel | Absolute Radiance

Skins:

Massive Moss Charger: Moss Knight (artist: Chaktis, unknown platform)

Hornet — Several: Daughter of Hallownest (no artist attribution but likely Leggo my Eggo); Daughter of the Stars (artist: Leggo my Eggo, unknown platform); Little Hornet {Classic, Godmaster, and White} (artist: InkScarlet, unknown platform); debatably, HorNight (artist: LichOne#5951 on Discord)

Oro, Mato, Sheo, and technically Sly — Little Nailmaster (currently in progress, artist: Rondoel on Tumblr)

Xero — flame-shadow is making a Xero skin over on their blog.

Sisters of Battle/Mantis Lords and Traitor Lord — Baby Mantis (artist: Nerdflowo on Tumblr)

Marmu — Marmu Knight (artist: 路过哒雪 on Bilibili)

Flukemarm — Nerdflowo joked about making a fluke skin, and is now doing it seriously. There is no official name for the skin yet, but there are some showcases on her blog.

Broken Vessel/Lost Kin — Several: Sapphire (artist: LOATR, unknown platform); Uninfected Vessel (artist: 羽灵翼, unknown platform); Cousin (? appears to be based on them; artist: 眼泪桦桦桦的流 on Bilibili)

Hive Knight — Hive Knight (artist: 埃里Ellie on Bilibili)

Collector — Grub (artist: 银黎 on Bilibili, incomplete as of the last update on this post). It... works as a counterpart. The cdash animation is Collector trying to grab the grub.

Grimm/NKG — Several: Little Grimm (artist: _yukawa_ on Bilibili); Grimm Knight (artist: Mola, unknown platform); GrimmKnight (artist: 复印纸, unknown platform). Note that the latter two are two different skins with a very similar name.

Uumuu — Jellyfish Knight (artist: 碳烤番茄鸡肉卷 on Bilibili)

Zote — Zote (artist: DFTz, unknown platform)

Pure Vessel — Several: The Sealed Vessel (no artist attribution), Pure Vessel (artist: emray on Twitch and emrayquaza on Twitter); The Hollow Knight (artist: emray on Twitch and emrayquaza on Twitter)

Radiance — Several: Radiance Knight (artist: ixiska on Bilibili); Little Radiance (artist: hawaiianbabidoll on Tumblr; currently only available here in the showcase as Colette has not updated the skin list yet.)

Additionally, there is a Tiny Godseeker skin by Jtad (unknown platform) if you wish to spite Godseeker. Many bosses also have a doodle enemy skin counterpart, made by various artists. Anyone who has ‘unknown platform’ had a YouTube showcase in Colette’s skin list, so they may have YouTube channels, as do some of the artists that do have other known platforms.

If you know of anything else beyond what I’ve listed here, feel free to let me know and I’ll update it. Artists, if you’re referenced here, feel free to promote your work!

[dreadark]

going in circles (more pointless complaining zzz

it's on me for getting mad at people who are just trying to give helpful advice but every time I'm reminded of how far apart someone like me is from most people I just

there was... some anecdote from someone I read ages ago i don't even remember where where they mentioned after they moved they were too depressed to unpack for a couple months but they finally managed to get over their own shame and admit this to their friends, who all came over to their apartment and helped them unpack and see, this problem was resolved in just one night! so don't be afraid to ask your friends for help!!

...sorry... what?

you have multiple good friends who live near you and you're depressed? about fucking what??? what more could you possibly want??????

...this is a shitty way of thinking. I know. people have their own problems and people are affected in different ways etc etc also im doing the classic tumblr thing of getting mad at posts that are obviously not directed at me. well this is my own blog, so it doesn't count, thanks

it's just like if I let myself be that depressed I would die

ah but that's never happened. I'm still here complaining on tumblr so I'm ~neurotypical~ that I have the energy to complain about this means I'm just pretending to be depressed. for clout. of course. ...........maybe this is why I can't connect with people lolllllllllll

if you think about it, the people who can exist while severly depressed are the lucky ones, since continued existence at that point requires some sort of network that can support them meaning these are the ones that would get referenced for psychological definitions or general understanding

but there's bound to be people who aren't as lucky

and those are dead

...well. I'm alive. so what am I complaining about...?

...basically nothing. I'm too lucky to have a valid point to make. but I just say shit anyway

(again, genius, why do you think you're unable to connect with people...)