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missmarthanightingale · 4 years

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ryan sinclair in s11

basic facts:

at the start of the season he’s 19 (my guess is close to 20), a warehouse worker studying to qualify as a mechanic, & seems to be living independently of his family, though he presumably moved out fairly recently. he’s a fan of grime music. his mother died when he was 13, with him being the one to find her, & his dad subsequently was largely absent from his life, leaving him to be raised by grace.

character traits:

observant/curious/clever

ryan is, especially at the beginning, the one with wonder in his eyes, like his grandmother. he sees glowing shapes in the air & touches them; he sees an alien spacecraft appear & goes over to investigate; he finds himself on an alien planet & can’t help but be delighted. he walks into the tardis & immediately wants to press the buttons. he’s curious & wide-eyed & enjoying himself very much. he’s every companion who ran away with the doctor, not because it was the doctor, but because the doctor was a doorway to so much more. it’s possible that i’m projecting a bit.

& he’s clever, more clever than he might seem on the surface. quite apart from anything else, if he can successfully track down accurate instructions for how to operate a crane given 5 minutes & a smartphone, he must be a pretty competent researcher. he’s always figuring things out & making connections & asking the right questions, & he often notices small things that the others miss. when he’s the one coming up with plans they’re unorthodox but pretty brilliant - i’m never going to be over the use of stormzy in arachnids, or the conveyer adventure in kerblam. he figures out the boat engine in ghost monument, & the speaker setup in it takes you away (i really wish they’d let him be a mechanic more often). he also has a level of emotional intelligence which i really didn’t pick up on until my last rewatch, & that scene with king james. he picks up on emotions, he just doesn’t necessarily know how to act on the things he notices.

impulsive/brave/determined

running out to fight evil robots shouting about call of duty is nothing if not impulsive, bless him. throwing his bike of the cliff was clearly on an impulse, too, one which gave us a glimpse of his temper. he clearly has a temper, but grace taught him to reign it in, so he tends to burn cold & express his anger through snarky outbursts, like we see in rosa, or stranding someone in prehistory if they really, really deserve it. remind you of anyone?

but most of his impulsive moments are brave ones. he’s the first to run after the doctor when she goes haring off to chase t’zim-sha. those moments where he hesitated to climb onto ladders & conveyor belts aren’t just about self-confidence; if something goes wrong, he could seriously injure himself, & it’s much more likely that something will go wrong for him. he’s also constantly following people into danger, from climbing onto the train to find grace to going after hanne in the antizone, to following the doctor wherever she leads, all with very little hesitation.

perhaps an extension of this, ryan sticks to his guns. once he decides to ride that bike, for grace, he refuses to give up. once he’s decided that someone matters to him, he won’t change his mind easily. once he’s decided on a course of action, he’s committed, & to hell with what gets in his way.

sensible/responsible/helpful

for the most part, anyhow; we have to give him some leeway for being an impulsive 19yo dumbass.

i think the best illustration of these traits is actually right at the start of twwfte, wherein ryan finds a weird spaceship in the woods & reacts by calling the authorities & staying with the ship until they arrive - partly out of curiosity, sure, but that was also probably the most reasonable thing to do in that scenario. he’s good in unexpected situations, we see over & over again, rarely rendered useless by panic or fear when he feels it. he might not know what’s going on, but he’s great at figuring out what he, personally, is going to do about it, which is often “enable someone more capable to handle it” by either fetching help or buying time, which we see in arachnids when they find the spider in the bedroom & again in demons of the punjab when the doctor goes missing.

he has a very mature sense of responsibility, as well. he easily owns up to touching the squares when he realises what it might mean, accepts a level of culpability for what’s happening even though it’s barely his fault, & quickly moves on to the most relevant part of having made a mistake - how he can help fix it. when he decides there’s something he ought to be doing, he does it. in rosa, the doctor gives him an easy out from a difficult situation, but since ryan feels like he ought to stay & help then by god, he will do so. i think this is very much tied in to the moral code he learned from grace, whose immediate reaction to people in crisis tended to be “we should take care of this person to the best of our ability, if they’ll allow it”. if you can help, you should help, & ryan is determined to do whatever he feels he should, especially when it means correcting his mistakes, like when he follows hanne to the antizone. he also frequently encourages people around him to do the same, both with words & by example.

grandaddy issues

it’s not a character trait, per se, but it’s an important part of his character’s arc so i think i have to discuss it.

his issues with graham are largely an extension of his issues with his own father. sure, there might be an element of “you won’t ever replace my real grandad” in the mix, but considering we don’t know anything about grace’s first husband? i’m much more inclined to blame it on aaron. we know that aaron pretty much abandoned ryan after his mother died, which in ryan’s own opinion he did because he saw too much of her in ryan. we also know that there was a time when ryan felt like there was something he had done to make himself unlovable to aaron (& probably wondered if it was the dyspraxia), though from the way he talks about it in resolution he doesn’t think that anymore, presumably because grace would have shut that right down the second she learned about it.

i think a lot of his resistance to allowing graham to have a role in his life as Family is born of a reluctance to get emotionally invested in someone who might just let him down again. his only connection to graham is through grace, & he’s unconvinced that graham would stick around if the going got tough, since he has even less reason to do so than aaron did. although graham obviously does continue to be there for him after grace dies, the emotional turmoil of her death combined with the letdown of aaron’s absence has him maintaining his distance for the next few episodes.

so what changes? rosa was definitely an episode where the going got tough & graham refused to stop being there for ryan & calling him family, which was probably a big factor in him ‘proving’ that he was committed to ryan, as his own person, despite grace no longer being in the picture. that was followed up by aaron’s letter in arachnids about ryan’s ‘proper’ family, which probably helped him realise that he does consider graham to be his family, despite what he might have told himself. the next major development is it takes you away, in which ryan finally calls graham grandad; he might have done that to cheer the man up after the emotionally draining episode, but i do think it’s at least in part because graham showed that ryan matters more to him than the reflection of his late wife, which is exactly what aaron failed to do.

ryan defines being a good parent - being a good anything, really - above all as being there. you can make mistakes, you probably will, but the important part is sticking around to fix them. the only way graham was ever going to earn ryan’s trust was by being there for him, constantly, which fortunately was exactly what graham wanted to do.

the doctor:

ryan, of the current companions, is definitely the most like the doctor. he lets his curiosity get the better of him much like she does; his anger expresses itself in a similar way; he can be impulsive & reckless & maybe a little too inclined to judge people. he has the same attitude of “it’s my duty to help wherever i can”. he always seems to ask exactly the right question & the number of times he & the doctor appear to be on the same wavelength is actually really impressive, when you’re looking for it. interesting how the doctor almost never goes off alone with him.

i think he’s also, perhaps because of this, the one she most connects with emotionally. she’s watching him as he rides that bike over & over. they have a really interesting conversation at the end of twwfte about reliability (responsibility), which i’m convinced had a strong effect on the way she interacts with her companions; we see her apologising for letting them down after she’d made a promise at the end of the next epsiode. he’s the only one she ever really attempts to provide with any emotional support without prompting or a situation which really blatantly calls for it. also, not for nothing, he’s the one who saw her glowing with regeneration energy, so i think he’s arguably the one who’s most able to comprehend that she’s Something Alien; he’s also the one who witnessed her excellent “earth is under my protection” bit in demons of the punjab.

in summary, this relationship means a lot to me & s12 should have them bonding over being mechanics.

#it's DONE #now i gotta finish the other two & start the one on the doctor #doctor who #dw meta #ryan sinclair #original #long post #they're about to meet nicola tesla so fingers crossed those 3 get to geek out together

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khaleesirin · 4 years

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In defense to the Karuta God

I love Arata. I know other folks who love Arata as much as I do. I know he isn’t that loved in the larger fandom. When Arata was young, he was treated an “outcast”, and even now some remnants of this “being-out-there-but-not-here” still play both in-universe and among fans. What is, then, the difference between an “outcast” and a “god”, when at the end of the day no one seems to touch the person casted for this role? No one seems to want to reach out for them because they are located in the different world? Arata is there but *also* not there; embodying a “deathspace” that seems to obscure our image of him. “Where is Arata?” is both an illuminating and heartbreaking question—first, because Arata is struggling in a world that already rendered his life fixed, and second, this seems to be something Chihaya has forgotten in her desire to be *seen* by Arata as well.

The introduction of Arata is also “fixed”; he provided a ground for the rest of the characters who are fluctuating on their desire. Yet, his story is about “being left out,” as if his story is already complete the moment he first opened his mouth. While the entire Karuta world welcomed him as the new Meijin, prefiguring his position, the story also “doesn’t support him.” There is a different sort of loneliness in a life prefigured for you. His story is “set aside” the moment he circulated the central theme of the story, and I still consider this the *very* strength of Chihayafuru. How do you encounter a figure like Arata who is made both an “outcast” and a “god” in a story that is about belonging and being seen as *equal*?

If this story is about circularity, Chihaya’s insistence to be acknowledged by Arata *is* the wrong path. To find Arata is to make “Arata” disappear—for us to remember that Chihaya is the first person to “include” Arata in her world before she prefigured him a “karuta god.” Chihaya made Arata *appear* in a world that do not know him, or knew him as someone else’s. Here, then, Chihaya was right in her “struggle” to see Arata as the karuta god—and a continuing mistake on her part to still see him this way even after years of reconnecting with him. Their disconnection, the loud static noise, this distance they have, is also because this acceptance of “I am far away from you.” In Chihaya’s case, it’s always this insistence that Arata is “too far ahead,” that she’s the one being left out. Ditto for Arata. If the story is about finding the “balance”—it’s this “becoming balance” that is the nucleus of Chihaya and Arata’s story.

Ok, this seems to be a Chiharata post than an Arata-centrict one, but this is exactly where I locate their “problem” which Suetsugu is not glossing over, but is deliberately doing to tell a different love story—one in which, I want to believe—that gives more “centrality” to the characterization that will lend itself to a connection in a series of “failed attempt” to complete one’s sentence. To desire, to wish for something or someone you don’t have is a romantic gesture—something blatantly articulated in Chihaya’s story (from Karuta to Arata) but always something withheld from Arata. Gods cannot desire, and when he does it’s always “to come” (“let’s play Karuta again” to “I will wait, we still have more time”) as if part of him is already *dead* in the present. What comes after winning the Meijin title for Arata? Is his *win* his rebirth? Is winning the death of the karuta god, so we can meet Arata again, so Chihaya can meet Arata again? The person who worked so hard, remembering that at a young age he was already doing “labor” as a newspaper delivery boy, while practicing memorization. That he was, and never is, talented. That his existence is born out of his own struggle to be someone, and to consider him “god” is to render all his struggles null. Arata’s story is about “unfixing” him—I still think Chihaya is there to do that.

I love Arata, because I tend to love characters who are always admired, but never loved.

#arata wataya #chiharata #chihayafuru #he is my baby

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spicywarl0ck · 4 years

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Here we are with day two of the AU-gust prompts. The prompt was college for today, so I just had to go with some fluffy romance. This will feature my fiancés Aisling Trevelyan and Cullen, since they are adorable fluff balls. (Also put a hinted male HawkexFenris in there for my own heart :D Oh, and not to mention a hinted WardenxAlistair)

Prompts are coming from @augustwritingchallenge

There was a light breeze that brushed trough her golden hair. The wooden bench that she sat upon creaked from time to time. It was a nice day with a blue sky, scattered with only a few clouds and the sun shone onto the football field that laid in front of her. Not that she was overly interested in sport, or wanted to watch the ongoing training. No, that she was sitting here in the sun was only because the library had been too crowded for her to find a seat, and the lawn in front of Arlathan college was filled with lovey-dovey couples. She had felt rather uncomfortable in their midst, especially with those kinds of guys that tended to flirt with her, making it obvious that they were more interested in her father than herself. But even if they were honest, she often just shied away, easily embarrassed by brash flirtations.

She had thought about simply returning to the Dorm room that she shared with another girl but the sign that her roommate left on the door had spoken a clear message. In the end she hadn’t even dared to knock and had fled the scene with a flushed face, not even wanting to imagine what the sounds she had heard behind her dorm room meant.

Not that she wasn’t curious as well. She’d glimpsed in the books that her older brother bought and loved to read to a certain point. The things that were described in the ‘Sword and shields’ the series she was currently following, sounded just so adventurous and exciting. It wasn't that she didn't want to do stuff like that as well, to flirt back when someone nice tried, but every time she was just rendered to a stumbling and stuttering mess.

So her last option to find a more or less peaceful place to read had been the benches around the football field. Of course there was the shouting of the training cheerleaders and the yelling of the football players that filled the air. But she actually didn’t mind it that much. It was still better than the other options. If it wouldn't be for the noises in the background it would have almost felt like home and sometimes she missed sitting in her corner of the garden, reading in silence in midst of the plants she cared for.

Not that she couldn’t have lived easily at home and get driven to the college by a driver. She would’ve been able to have every amount of the luxury at home, but she decided to stay in the dorms like everyone else. Especially after her brother had teased her that she wouldn’t make it without her bathtub.

But instead she now sat here, dressed in her favorite fluttery summer dress and a book on her lap, probably out of place because most of the other people here came to watch the ongoing training.

Her eyes shifted to the players on the field on occasion. Especially when she heard loud thuds that indicated that two bodies had crushed against each other. Aisling sat in the last row of the stadium benches, which was why the sound always took her by surprise.

“ALISTAIR! YOU NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR THE BALL FOR MAKER’S SAKE!” someone yelled over the field, causing her to flinch in her seat.

The voice seemed to belong to a blonde haired and sturdy man. He wasn’t the tallest of them all, but he seemed to be the one in the lead. Probably the captain of the football team considering the fact that he stood on the side and observed his players. Not that she knew a lot about the game, but at least she knew there had to be a captain.

The player that had seemingly made the mistake, a guy that actually looked very similar to their captain seemed to apologize in earnest before they retook their formation to begin from start once more. At least he looked quite guilty, as did the redheaded girl in the front rows, who had probably distracted him as he strolled back onto the field.

“HEY, HAWKE! TAKE THIS SERIOUS! THE NEXT SEASON IS STARTING WITHIN A MONTH! IF YOU KEEP THIS UP YOU WILL BE CRUSHED BY OUR ENEMIES!” The captain shouted once more, this time towards a broad and dark haired man that just waved towards a dark skinned elf that leaned against the wooden stands and who seemed to effectively ignore the man.

She tried to concentrate back onto the book she read, but her eyes always flew towards the sturdy men that moved in such a barbaric way, ramming each other with full force. But she’d to admit that it looked fascinating and at least it seemed to be fun for them, even though they were drilled by the captain and her attention got drawn to him on more than one occasion.

The man surely was handsome, with the college jacket he wore, the styled hair and that rough bellowing voice. Of course, she’d only heard him shout so far and that probably didn't say much about him. Aisling found herself to move a few rows closer, and she sat down behind the elf.

But her eyes didn't linger on the slender man for long and fixed on the captain once more. He was only a few seats away, and she was able to study his profile, her eyes travelling over the carefully styled hair, the furrowed brows while he was shouting. He was rough, but that didn't make him less handsome, and she found herself watching more than concentrating on her book. "HAWKE! CAREFULL YOU..." Her head had spun around, at the sudden shout, but she couldn't even see what happened, just heard a loud thud and a pain shooting through her head before everything went black around her.

A low groan escaped her lips when she tried to open her eyes, making her head thrum in pain. Everything around her seemed to be blurry for a moment, the sunlight hurting in her eyes. She felt herself get moved pulled against something warm. “I’m so sorry. ” A deep and gentle voice rumbled right above her and when her eyes focused, she could make out the face of the Football captain. He held her in his warm and broad arms, amber eyes looking at her in concern. “That ball shouldn’t have been thrown into your direction. I’ll let him run 100 Leaps around the field for that.” he continued, his hand brushing through her blonde locks, and he looked at her, his brows furrowing again. "You have been out for a moment, but at least you are not bleeding. But we really should get something for that bruise. Hold on." Her head was spinning with those new informations, and she was barely able to process it with the thrumming in her head. Only when she got easily lifted from the bench she realized that the warmth had been his chest, that she had been laying against his body while he had examined her head. Her heart started to beat faster, and she wanted to say something, thank you at least, but her voice just didn't cooperate. As if she had lost it, like every time she tried to talk to someone she found interesting. That she got pressed against his body, felt his hands carefully holding her against him just made it worse. She wasn't very touchy usually, kept her distance with an exception to her brother but this, this was something completely different.

There was a first aid room right next to the training field, even though no one was there right now, but he seemed to know the place good enough to find the things that he needed, opening the cabinets to get out a few things she couldn't make out.

He returned, stood right in front of her, and when she looked up he smiled, making the scar that cut through his lip twitch. Aisling felt heat raise up in her cheeks, quickly looked down again and flinched when a wet cloth brushed against the bump on her forehead, taking her completely by surprise. It hurt, ached and throbbed, but she didn’t dare to move even one muscle. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest, and he was so close to her that she could smell the aftershave that mixed with the sweat from the training.

“I.. uh.. uhm..” she began to stutter, at a loss for words obviously. This all was just too much for her. From what she had understood she had been hit by a ball and it certainly felt like it, but it couldn't have hit her so hard that her brain just couldn’t function properly, right? She felt just dumb, not being able to talk to him, to not even be able to say thank you to the man that looked after her so gently.

“Sorry… I… didn’t want to hurt you. I’ll be careful.” the smile that followed his words rendered her speechless again, and the way he adjusted the cloth, now softly dabbed on the bruise, it just was so sweet and careful that her heart raced even more. There he was, such a broad guy that could’ve probably beat everyone else to a pulp. Yet, he was so gentle and caring that it made her heart flutter.

“I...uh.. it’s okay. I didn’t pay any attention either so… I guess it’s my fault too.” Aisling managed to get over her lips with a shy smile. “Th… Thank you for taking care of me.” she added, her cheeks completely flushed.

“Uh… no you’re welcome. It was my fault too, in a way. Uh… my name is Cullen Rutherford if you want to report someone. I’m the one in charge of the team.” he replied to her, the smile on his face twitching again, leaving her stare at him in fascination. She couldn’t help but to think of it as adorable.

“Aisling.” she introduced herself, not feeling the aching pain in her head anymore, thanks to the fluttery feeling in her stomach. "I...You don't need to worry, I won't report anybody." her eyes found his and for a second his soft dabbing stopped. The moment broke with the creaking of the door as the nurse entered, but glimpsing at the flushed face of the man in front of her she wondered if that ball was probably what they needed to find together, and she couldn’t help but to feel thankful for the guy who’d thrown it.

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fyeahbatcat · 5 years

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Just finished Batman: Hush the animated movie. What are your thoughts on it?

Alright, everyone. Here we go:

Batman: Hush Movie Full review

To begin, as I’ve stated here previously, Batman: Hush is a very important story to me. It was the first Batman comic that I ever read many years ago. In the sixteen years since its original publication it has undergone at least nine different editions and is still one of the most recommended and critically praised Batman stories of the modern era. It was the starting point for many people in the Batman fandom, and I still believe that it is the most pinnacle story regarding Batman and Catwoman’s relationship. The fact that it’s still so influential, nearly twenty years later, in indicative of its importance and merit.

When DC Comics announced last summer that they were officially making Hush into an animated movie I was happy, but I cannot say that I was excited. This was due to unrelated factors that were happening simultaneous to its announcement that obliterated my faith in DC Comics as a whole. You can imagine my dismay when I learned that instead of creating a direct adaptation, in the same vein as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Year One, they would be changing the story to fit in with their current New 52 inspired animated universe.

As anyone whose been following me for a while may have observed; I’m highly critical. I can usually find the good and bad in something and when I’m giving my take on things from my perspective it’s pretty fair and balanced. I was fully aware that the Hush movie made changes to the story and knew going in that I would have to temper my expectations, but I still gave it a chance.

Many will say that the film should be viewed on its own merit, and I generally tend to agree. If not held up to the book the movie is watchable and very easy to enjoy. But it’s an adaptation. An adaptation of one of the best and most popular Batman stories of all time. An ambitious and operatic year long event from Jeph Loeb, and one that I personally hold in the highest regards. Completely divorcing the movie from its source material is unfeasible.

With that said; as I review this movie I will be critiquing as loosely inspiredimagination of the Batman: Hush comic, and only making comparisons to demonstrate potential compromises of the story or the characters.

***Obvious spoilers ahead***

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

After many years of begging, pleading, rumors, and teasing the Batman: Hush animated film was finally released during SDCC weekend. The basic plot remained intact: a mysterious new villain named Hush targets Batman’s crime fighting career as well as his personal life, which is further complicated by his burgeoning romance with Catwoman. While making concessions that range from minor to pivotal the movie manages to be different while maintaining a degree of familiarity. All the most iconic scenes are there in one aspect or another, with only one notable exception; the Jason Todd graveyard scene.

There’s not much to say about the general plot. It for the most part, stays true to the essence of the story, while being different in execution. Most changes were traversable, while others were pointless and baffling. The first questionable change occurs early in the movie, when Catwoman delivers the stolen money to Poison Ivy; Ivy kisses Catwoman, which she does not reciprocate. In the original script for the book, I believe, that Ivy did kiss Catwoman, but Jeph Loeb was told by editorial to remove it, because it was “too much.”

It was clear in the comic book that Ivy was using her powers to mind-control Catwoman. In that context kissing her would have made more sense. In the movie the extent of her influence over Catwoman is unclear. It appears that she is blackmailing Catwoman. Catwoman’s coldness and irritation afterwards implies that she has maintained some degree of self-awareness. Her use of coercion rather than force renders the kiss pointless, and its intention to merely be salacious.

Other needless changes involve swapping out characters. Bane, for some reason, has taken the place of Killer Croc. Damian Wayne has taken the place of Tim Drake, and Amanda Waller makes a token appearance, but both proceed to only have one scene.

As Rick Austin from FortressofSolitude put it:

Some changes to the original story are surface-level questionable, making you wonder why they changed them at all – like substituting Killer Croc for Bane, for instance. Presumably it was done for recognition and name value, and barely has any relevance to the story. Huntress is replaced by Batgirl, probably for the similar reasons, but that’s more important and naturally means Oracle’s role in the story is gone. Slowly but surely, the small tweaks begin to have a big knock-on effect. Important lines of dialogue have been jettisoned, some elements have been removed and some characters replace others just to make this fit with other recent DC animated films.

The movie takes a more action/adventure route rather than a character driven mystery, chugging along at breakneck pace making several plot concessions along the way. What it does manage to improve from the book, as far as a Batman and Catwoman shipper can see, is it beefs up Batman and Catwoman’s ill-fated romance, by way of a montage depicting adorable, if at times out-of-character, domesticity that even involves matching his and hers robes. Its inclusion was more fan-servicey than plot driven, but the ship isn’t doing well right now so I’m not about to complain about that.

What I will complain about isn’t what was added to the romance, but what was excluded from it. The film cuts out all the most important scenes that demonstrate why the dynamics of Batman and Catwoman’s relationship works for them. Yes, we get the rooftop kiss that has graced a thousand screensavers and Batman ultimately making the decision to reveal his identity to Catwoman, but everything in service of Catwoman’s perspective are removed entirely.

The scene from the book when Catwoman admonishes Batman for saving her instead of going after the Joker after she is shot at the opera, is changed to Catwoman merely telling Batman to go after Harley Quinn.

If you ever choose to rescue…me again over catching the bad guy…I swear I’ll scratch your eyes out. I’m not some kid you took in and trained.

This scene is important because this is where Catwoman affirms how she sees herself in this relationship: she is Batman’s equal and she expects– demands– that he treat her as such. These changes seem benign at first, until it becomes clear later why they were made. More on that in a bit.

The original script for Hush also included a tasteful post-coital scene that was ultimately cut by editorial. The scene makes its way back into the movie in lieu of some of the more emotionally intimate moments, like Selina dialoguing with Alfred in the bat-cave. The dialogue also fails to compensate for this. Batman and Catwoman’s pillow talk topic include how Batman used to think Catwoman was a kleptomaniac.

“You were beautiful, intelligent, and brilliant,” he tells her. “I assumed if you were stealing it was because you couldn’t control it.” I see this come up in fandom every now and again, and Catwoman cannot be a kleptomaniac because kleptomania is an impulse control disorder. Catwoman steals for profit and executes elaborate premeditated heists. I can see why other people would make that mistake, but the world’s greatest detective should have more cognizance.

Most of the changes to film are surface-level and trivial, but where the movie majorly fails is when they attempt to fix things that weren’t broken to begin with.

The most major change doesn’t occur until the final act of the movie when it is revealed that Hush is actually the Riddler. At first, I thought this was a misdirect, but no. The Riddler is really Hush and Tommy Elliot was just a plot device, and he is really dead. Like in the book, Riddler gained knowledge of Batman’s identity while in the Lazarus Pit, and decides to take revenge by going after Bruce Wayne’s friends and loved ones.

This change is nonsensical and renders Tommy Elliot’s role in the movie essential meaningless. He is a mere plot device, a shamefully underdeveloped plot device, intended to provide Batman with angst. Villains targeting Batman’s loved ones is all too familiar occurrence, but audiences barely get to know Tommy long enough understand the depths of Batman’s grief and mourning.

As I’m sure all of you are aware at this point that in the book it is revealed that Hush is Tommy Elliot. Substituting Tommy for Riddler diminishes the impact of the reveal and Hush’s motivations. Tommy, Bruce’s close childhood friend, has a personal vendetta against Bruce. He uses his friendship, familiarity, and access to Bruce Wayne to attack him both personally and as Batman. It also complicates Batman’s relationship with Hush as a villain. The Riddler being Hush is just a theatrical Gotham villain pretending to be a different theatrical Gotham villain for no reason whatsoever.

Towards the end of the movie Riddler kidnaps Catwoman and tries to kill her in an elaborate trap. Since Bruce was damseled early in the movie, I didn’t so much mind that they did the same to Catwoman. I like that Batman and Catwoman can depend on each other, and it demonstrates a degree of equality in their relationship. However, while Batman was only incidentally damseled for maybe 60 seconds, Catwoman was subtly threatened with rape for intervening on his behalf and later got the full-on woman-tied-to-railroad-tracks-treatment. Predictably Batman shows up and saves the day.

THE UGLY

Batman: Hush made several missteps that I was willing to overlook, and almost got through its entire 82-minute run time before doing the only thing that I considered truly egregious.

After the ensuing fight the building begins to collapse and Catwoman leaves Riddler to die, after Batman attempts to save him. Batman argues that they could’ve saved Riddler instead of letting him die. Catwoman becomes angry. “You’re crazy! You’re absolutely insane,” she exclaims melodramatically. Batman and Catwoman decide that their moral differences are too stark and break up, but leave the door open for the future.

This is where the movie took an unexpected turn for the worse. This is where the reason why so many changes to Catwoman’s character becomes clear.

Batman goes out as the voice of morality and looks like the hero, and Catwoman is completely thrown under the bus to make it happen.

Early in the movie during the famous battle of Metropolis when Superman is under the influence of Poison Ivy, Catwoman throws Lois Lane off a building to snap him out of the spell. Later when Superman is out of earshot Batman tells Catwoman that throwing Lois off the building was not part of the plan and that he did not approve of her methods. In the book it was Batman’s idea to throw Lois from the building. This moment frequently makes appearances on Worst-Things-Batman-Has-Ever-Done lists on comic sites.

During the opera scene Catwoman attempting to stop Batman from killing the Joker in a fit of rage was also cut. Here it was Batman who was acting morally questionable, and Catwoman was the reasonable and morally righteous one, so to speak.

These, along with Catwoman allowing Riddler to die, are intended to make Catwoman seem like she has a cursory attitude towards killing, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. All of this inevitably shifts all the blame for the relationship not working out on Catwoman. Catwoman’s flaws are irreconcilable while Batman is the blameless voice of reason. This is abominable at best, and sexist at worst.

The book ends similarly and yet profoundly different. Upon the announcement of the film some people were hoping for the ending to be changed to something presumably happier for Bruce and Selina. In the book Batman and Catwoman break up, but under much different circumstances.

I personally feel that the ending to the original was appropriate for the story. Batman sabotages their relationship pushes Catwoman away because he realized was not ready for the vulnerability required in that type of relationship, It ends on a bittersweet note. Batman and Catwoman can have a relationship “someday.” All they need is a little more time, and it’s Batman who need to be a little bit different.

Even as things end Loeb simply and perfectly sums up why Batman and Catwoman work:

We are who we are. That’s why this works.

The film makes fundamental differences, that can only be remedied by Catwoman changing herself, are the root of Batman and Catwoman’s relationship dysfunction.

The changes to Catwoman’s character occur only to justify the ending. The filmmakers went to great lengths to villainize Catwoman to make it seem like it was all her personal shortcomings that ended things instead of Batman’s to make him seem more heroic. It relegates Batman and Catwoman’s relationship to a tool to demonstrate Batman’s inflexible moral code.

To add insult to injury, as Batman and Catwoman’s relationship comes to an end, Selina tells Bruce bitterly that she changed herself to be with him and was willing to continue changing. This robs Selina the agency of having reformed on her own, in a film that has already diminished much of her voice and independence.

It’s almost laughable that Selina once told Huntress that reforming was worthwhile, “as long as you’re doing it for yourself, and not for what someone else thinks of you,” in the same book the movie was based on.

Some dude (and it’s a dude; I checked) read the book, saw this panel, then decided to have her say literally the opposite. I wish I was making this up.

On its own the Batman: Hush movie is watchable. The casual viewer and batcat shippers alike can easily find something to enjoy. But watchable is a low bar to pass when based on one of the most popular Batman stories of our era. What should have been an exceptionally easy recipe for success did not exceed the bare minimum. It’s drab, bland, and dark animation style does not hold up to Jim Lee’s iconic penciling or Scott Williams’ colorful fills. The changes to the story are generally acceptable, until the final act of the movie when things go off the rails.

Ultimately the movie exceptionally fails at capturing the dynamics of Batman and Catwoman’s relationship, trading in much of the depth and intimacy for shower sex and pet names. On its own Batman: Hush stands as a mindlessly entertaining adaptation, loosely inspired by a Batman story of mystery and intrigue. Held up to the source material, it’s a pale and grotesque imitation.

#ask #blackbatpurplecat #batcat #Batman #Catwoman #Bruce Wayne #Selina Kyle #personal note #review #long post #batman hush spoilers

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

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WHY I'M SMARTER THAN STARTUPS

It's exactly the same work, except with bosses. That had already happened to Slashdot and Digg by the time it takes a conscious effort to schmooze; that doesn't work well. Several founders said what surprised them most about starting a startup was the value of the company should be? I'm amazed how much worry it caused me. But as the founders of Google knew, brand is worth next to nothing in the search business. Another thing blogging and open source have in common is that a dollar from them is worth one dollar.1 That's why fundraising and the enterprise market kill and maim so many startups.2

Paths can bend a lot more impressed if the answer is for hackers to act more like painters, and regularly start over from scratch, instead of going with the first that comes into your head. In particular, you don't have room for new ideas, you don't hit another MBA till number 22, Phil Knight, the CEO of a company, and that explains most of the people we hired. Alexander Calder Calder's on this list because he makes me happy. The most important way to not spend money is by not hiring people. For example, a language in which indentation is significant, like Python, would not work very well on printer terminals. Rich people don't want to be in the twentieth century was professional, which amateurs, by definition, are not actually doing science. We thought so when we started that our users were called direct marketers.3 I've found in my long career as a slob that cruft breeds cruft, and I've seen this happen in software as well as Micro-soft. If you're wondering what you're doing now that you'll regret most later, that's probably it. And there is another class of problems which inherently have an unlimited capacity to soak up cycles: image rendering, cryptography, simulations.

So bang, there's the structure, and you just have to do what adults tell me all day long. They want to talk about your idea is the embodiment of understanding your users. I'd grasped that in high school: what you want and publish when you want. There is nothing more valuable than an unmet need that is just what tends to happen. I can't think of any field in which determination is overrated, but the way one anticipates a delicious dinner. What about using it to write software? Nothing kills startups like distractions. Could a programming language should, like oil paint, make it easy to change your product. Unnecessary meetings, pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people's mistakes, traffic jams, addictive but unrewarding pastimes. Backing off can likewise prevent ambition from stalling.

You can just abandon that one and skip to the next. That is, no matter what I did. The real thing is not something one could have for waiting on tables. Collecting donations for a charity is an admirable thing to do when you get fouled is not to hunt for big ideas, but empirically that doesn't seem to be deliberately trolling, we ban them ruthlessly. We'd hire 30 tomorrow morning. I think the reason most employees work fixed hours is that if you can't make people work, you can safely talk to them, because you both know the price will have to be a huge number you've never heard of called x. Most subjects are taught in such a boring way that it's only by discipline that you can return to academic life.

I'm surprised by how well you do in school under the name passion. Ultimately power rests with the founders. You're also safe that way from refutation.4 One, obviously, is the group within companies that buys other companies. Do you really need the rich people? If you're talking to someone from corp dev wants to meet, the founders should include technical people. I said, I worked on Microsoft Office instead of I work at a small startup you've never heard of. And not only will they give you this advice for free, because they don't know what the options are, or which kinds of problems are hard and which are easy. I learned, without realizing it. The danger is to companies in the middle. If determination is so important is that it's their profession to. Actually a lot of startups had the opposite policy.

Notes

There's not much to say exactly what your GPA was. Selina Tobaccowala stopped to say, good deals. Applying for a block or so and we don't want to.

A knowledge of human anatomy. Learning to hack is a bad sign if you sort investors by benevolence you've also sorted them by the surface similarities. Mayle, Peter, Why Are We Getting a Divorce?

Investors are professional negotiators and can hire unskilled people to do right. So far, I suspect the recent resurgence of evangelical Christianity in the sense of things you sell.

Patent trolls can't even trust the design world's internal standards. More generally, it could be mistaken, and that often doesn't know its own mind. Most of the 20th century executive salaries.

Thanks to Ingrid Bassett, Chip Coldwell, Paul Buchheit, Geoff Ralston, Sarah Harlin, John Bautista, and Trevor Blackwell for their feedback on these thoughts.

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rosecolouredash · 5 years

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Displacement ; Hockey!Cashton

Summary: In physics, the term refers to an object’s overall change in position. In psychoanalysis, it is the unconscious transfer of an intense emotion from one object to another.

Warnings: A blend of softness and angst for your reading pleasure.

Notes: Here it is my friends, the next part to Momentum and Collision. I don’t think I’ll never not get weepy from all the messages and asks about this lil series. Keep your eyes peeled for more (did someone say prequel? No?? Just me???) because let’s face it, I’m not ready to let this au and hockey!cashton go just yet.

It was a Sunday morning when you opened your eyes from slumber, a thoughtful look on your face. You had dreamt about Ashton and the days prior and since he’s come home to your shared apartment from the hospital.

That was over a week now.

Shifting your gaze forward, your eyes were met by the sleeping visage of your boyfriend, the captain of the Timberwolves hockey team. He was still wrapped up in his mind and in his dreams. You took a moment to study him. The comforter you shared was pushed halfway down his waist, revealing the black t-shirt he wore to bed. His hair was a tousled mess, most likely due to the movement he made during sleep. You had the urge to run your fingers through his bed head but decided against it; not wanting to wake the second sleeping boy who’s tanned arms held you around your torso.

Calum was also fast asleep. Turning your head, you gazed upon your other boyfriend and envied the way his lashes lightly kissed his caramel skin. His pouty lips were slightly parted as even breaths escaped them.

You frowned when you thought back to when Ashton got hurt and how erratic Calum’s breathing was then, compared to now. Luke shared with you - in private - how he feared his best friend might have passed out from a lack of oxygen when they had checked on their unconscious captain after he got hit.

Mindful of Calum’s arms encircling you, you turned onto your side so that you could fully face the boy. You reached up and lightly traced his cheek with the pad of your thumb. He let out a soft sigh which made you cease your movements. You smiled when he unconsciously pulled you closer. When you repeated your actions, they earned you a flutter of eyelids and for your stare to be met by warm brown eyes.

“Good morning sweetheart,” he murmured, sleep heavy in his voice.

“Good morning,” you said in return, lifting your head up to plant a delicate kiss on his nose.

He pulled back a little and then gave you a peck on the lips.

“Ash still asleep?”

You turned your head while Calum looked over to the other side of the bed. The two of you watched the steady rise and fall of Ashton’s chest.

“Looks like it,” you deemed, gazing back at Calum.

“Good.”

For lack of a better word, Ashton has had trouble sleeping since the incident.

“It’s like our roles have reversed.”

At the comment, the look Calum gave you was almost apologetic.

Ashton was the early-riser between you three or at least, that used to be the case. It never mattered whether your two boys had hockey in the morning or not. The captain was always up and ready to greet his sweetheart and his soulmate with a kiss and a smile. Nowadays, you or Calum or sometimes you both - like now - woke up before him. At first, you were confused at the sudden change in your boyfriend’s sleeping patterns but ultimately blamed it on Ashton’s adjustment to coming home from staying at the hospital for a couple of days.

You and Calum continued a conversation in hushed tones to allow your boyfriend the sleep he deserved. Unknowingly, you both missed the slight crease in Ashton’s brow and the frown that graced his face before it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

—

You didn’t remember how the dispute even started.

Calum and Ashton had come home one afternoon, from practice, the latter frustrated for some reason. The defenseman had disappeared into the kitchen to grab himself a glass of water which left you to tend to Ashton. Your questions about his day were innocent enough but the captain’s responses were cut and dry.

You hadn’t thought anything of it.

At one point, something in Ashton just snapped.

For as long as you’ve known him, Ashton has never yelled at you. Not like that.

He regretted it, immediately; the volume at which his voice had taken to speak with you.

In a split second, your face had shown fear.

Fear for Ashton.

Fear of Ashton.

Before he could come forward to offer you comfort and a sincere apology, Calum had reappeared.

He stepped between you two and you gripped at your boyfriend’s arm while he stared down at your other.

“That was uncalled for,” Calum spat. Ashton visibly winced at his harsh tone.

“What’s up with you lately?”

Practice was particularly brutal today, to the point where the two were almost at each other’s throats over a disagreement on a play. This happened frequently, as of late. Both Michael and Luke were aware that Calum was still hung up over the fact that he let Ashton get hurt in his presence. Now, whenever they discussed plays on the ice, the alternate captain would find any means to not include Ashton in them, especially if he needed to get physical.

Ashton, on the other hand, was worse for wear. The lack of proper sleep and the constant thrum of his head made him highly irritable. Not knowing how to cope, Ashton took it out on the team; barking out orders and drills like a sergeant which was so unlike his usual level-headed captaincy.

“It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.” A frown graced the dark-haired boy’s face, his eyes pleading, “like we don’t even know who you are anymore.”

The apartment went silent as Ashton looked between his soulmate and his sweetheart. He let out a deep sigh, turned around and made his way towards door.

Both you and Calum called out to him, in a panic, to stay.

He paused when his hand reached the doorknob, “I’m sorry for yellin’ at you, sweets.”

You peeked up at him from behind Calum.

Hazel eyes reflected the sadness in his voice.

“Just give me some time, alone.”

With that, he left.

—

You and Calum had settled into bed for the night; Ashton still nowhere to be found. You had called Michael and Luke in hopes that they’d heard from him but to no avail. They hadn’t seen him since practice that afternoon.

When you heard the jingle of keys and the door to the apartment open, you and Calum shared a look. Not sure with what was to transpire, the two of you positioned yourselves so that you faced away from the bedroom door and feigned sleep.

Ashton was heard as he walked down the hallway leading to your shared room. The door made a click as he opened it. Light from the hall filtered into your mostly dark room, safe for the moonlight already streaming in through the window. You could only imagine how Ashton looked as he peeked his head inside.

“You two awake?” He whispered.

Neither of you made a sound.

Ashton chuckled softly, the sound of it a little bitter and sad, as he opened the door fully to step into the room. He made his way over to the foot of the bed and sat on the edge; he faced away from you and Calum.

“I’m such a coward,” Ashton murmured.

You frowned at the statement as your boyfriend continued to talk as he was unaware of yours and Calum’s listening ears.

“I couldn’t admit it,” he continued.

Calum rested his chin on top your head, concerned about what they were about to hear.

“I think there’s something wrong with me.”

You felt yourself and Calum go rigid but still made no sign to let Ashton know that you were awake.

“I know the doctors had cleared me but—” Ashton put his head in his hands, “—there’s still this constant pain in my head and nothing I do can fix it.”

It made perfect sense. The change in his sleep schedule or sometimes lack thereof. His moodiness - on and off the ice.

“Not telling you two, that was my first mistake.”

Ashton would never want to cause you or Calum unnecessary worry. He thought he could deal with this himself but he was scared and it was getting to the point where he needed your help.

“I know Cal’s still berating himself over the ordeal—”

Calum’s grip on you tightened. The guilt that weighed down his chest was ever-present.

“—and that our sweetheart’s been dreamin’ about it too.”

Your heart sank in your chest as your boyfriend voiced this truth. Ashton must have realized this whenever he was stuck awake, late at night, because you often mumbled in your sleep.

“What’s more painful than this damn head injury is knowing that I’m inadvertently hurting the two most important people in my life.”

After his confession, the room went silent.

You were still collecting your thoughts when Calum had another plan, in mind.

“You’re an idiot.”

Ashton froze in place, then turned his body towards what he thought were his two sleeping lovers.

Sitting up, Calum turned on the bedside lamp.

You also sat up, not being able to hide that you both had been wide awake the whole time. The sting of tears creeped at the corner of your eyes as you nodded, “if you think allowing yourself to suffer this alone was the right choice, for us—” you started, gesturing between yourself and Calum, “—then you’re gravely mistaken.”

Before Ashton could respond, you and Calum crawled over to sit on either side of him.

“We’re going to figure this out,” Calum reassured as he took ahold one of Ashton’s hands.

“Together, if you let us,” you added, leaning your head on your captain’s shoulder.

Ashton was rendered speechless though a warm feeling came over him as his soulmate and sweetheart discussed what they were to do next; the first being a trip to the doctor’s the next morning.

—

It was another Sunday morning a couple of weeks later that you opened your eyes from sleep - a peaceful look on your face. For once, you had a dreamless night. Out of habit, you shifted your gaze forward and were stunned to find beautiful hazel eyes staring back at you, lovingly.

With a sweet smile and a quick peck on your lips, he greeted you.

“Good morning, sweets.”

Tagged: @irwinkitten @calpops @rosecoloredash @lilbabycalum @gorgeouslygrace @rainingcal @casht0n-hoodwin @lockthisheartinchains @americanhorrorstudies @lovableah

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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February 12th-February 18th, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from February 12th, 2020 to February 18th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

When applicable, what about a creator’s art might convince you to check out their comic?

carcarchu

I like a wide range of art styles so it's hard to pinpoint specifics but if an artist is able to draw very attractive looking characters (recognizable character designs, outfits that don't look like they came out of 2004 gap catalogue, characters that can still be recognized even when they change their hair style) then i find that very appealing. beyond that how well an artist can integrate the characters with the actual space they exist in is something i find very important as well. a bunch of floating heads can only carry a series so far. if the artist can make the characters feel like they properly exist in the space i think it can really elevate the series although in practice this is something very difficult to do.

Deo101 [Millennium]

For me, honestly some art styles are very inspiring to me and that will sometimes get me to read just because I want to see the art more and learn from it. Things like textures, colors, character design... It can draw me in just by exciting me as a learning opportunity

chalcara

For me art‘s the hook and story the line. Come for the art, stay for the story, you know?

Funnily I‘m looking less for pretty art and more for good visual story telling. I want the art to show whats going on without having to rely on dialogue.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I'm honestly very picky about art styles when it comes to comics, and that's a personal issue It has some to do with art styles being attractive to me, but honestly, the most important aspects of a creator's style to me are (1) consistency of style and anatomy, (2) level of completion, and (3) clear communication of what's happening. When it comes to whether or not I check out the comic initially, the main things that come into play with the promotional materials, covers, and/or thumbnails are contrast of the image and cleanness of the rendering. Of course, obviously, my personal tastes play into it. (I tend to like semi-realistic styles, sort of anime-ish but with a twist, or painted styles that may resemble concept art.) But honestly, probably more important than grabbing me initially to begin reading is readership retention. And that's where the 3 qualities I look for come into play: (1) Consistency of style and anatomy: This is probably the most important part for me as a reader. If I can't tell who is who because the characters change appearance from panel to panel, I'm ducking out, because that affects the clarity of storytelling. I also cringe everytime I see a particularly egregious anatomy error. I know what people look like. I see them every day. If I feel pain from looking at an artist's work, I'm not sticking around. (To be fair, everyone makes some kind of anatomy mistakes, but really it's if the anatomy mistakes are really awful to me and aren't as a result of a deliberate style CHOICE. Keyword, C H O I C E.) (2) Level of completion: This really just means that if it looks like the artist rushed through the panels or they were being lazy, I feel like their comic isn't worth my time. I mean, if an artist themselves doesn't care about their work, why should I?(edited)

. (3) Clear communication of what's happening: Once again clarity of storytelling is absolutely essential. If the composition of a large portion of the panels don't clearly show the actions of the characters, I can't follow the story. Aaaaaand as a bonus: Please, please, for the love of all powers that be, please, make your fonts legible. If I can't read the comic without squinting because your text is too tiny or hard to read, I'm not going to try. I have bad eyesight as it is. Take pity on your readers. I'm not going to suffer for your work. I have dropped far too many comics to count because the creator didn't care enough to make sure that the font was legible. And this applies to both desktop view, mobile view, scrolling format, and page to page format. Just.... Make your fonts big and clear.(edited)

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

That's interesting to think about how recognizable characters are when their hair style changes. I might try to use that as a character building exercise

Deo101 [Millennium]

Solid excercise: can you tell them all apart when they're bald and naked?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

OoooooooOOOOOOOOOOHHHH

Might partake that challenge

Deo101 [Millennium]

Also it's really fun to draw characters in all sorts of hair and clothes so idk what id do if I couldn't tell them apart when doing that!!! That's like 40% of my art!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

This just convinces me more and more to do AU art

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah aus are another 20% of what i draw LOL

Look im drawing the comic most of the time so I wish to partake in non canon things the rest

carcarchu

@sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD) i've read series before where the character gets a hair cut / dyes it and i'm like WHO ARE YOU? IS THIS A NEW CHARACTER?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Oh another good excercise is drawing your Characters in many different styles and seeing if they remain unique when not in yours.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I want to do all of this

This is stuff I hardly ever have time for

So I am extra attracted to it

Also, there IS a time later in the comic where a certain character's hair gets partially burned off

And then he cuts it pretty short to get rid of the singed edges

And I feel like his hair is like 80% of his character design

So I'm just a little scared about that

Deo101 [Millennium]

Also, @Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) , I am unsure what you mean by "readership retention" with something that makes you interested in a comic, could you explain?(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

By readership retention, I mean aspects of the art that decide whether I'll continue reading past the first few pages

(obviously story comes into play as well, but I won't pretend that the art in the first few pages of a comic don't contribute)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Oh okay, I thought you meant like how many readers have unfollowed or something

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Nah

More like, "oh cool! Your cover and blurb seem interesting. Lemme check out the comic!"

And then after reading the first few pages/chapter:

"ah... Not for me." Or "Nice, I'll keep reading!"

Deo101 [Millennium]

Gotcha

Capitania do Azar

Ohh I don't feel like dissing particular artsyle choices, but I know a few aren't for me. I'm no big fan of ultra realistic, hyper detailed stuff you usually see in super hero comics (other genres pick that style too sometimes and I still don't really appreciate). I particularly like artstyles that are distinct and recognizable, I have a hard time with stuff from different authors that just looks... Like a carbon copy (sometimes, the style being referenced is waaay too obvious and that is always a big no for me) Good use of color is key. Give me some good values too. I want colors to make sense and I am very tired of pink. I also appreciate consistency. If you give me artwork with a more paintery style but then the comic is cellshaded, that might tip me off. But not necessarily (tho I appreciate inner consistency inside the comic itself). Rushed stuff, like mentioned above, is also not a good look, but only insofar as it distracts me from what's happening in the story. Consistency is a very important word here, because I love seeing a common line that is able to take in all the differences that are necessary in character design and backgrounds, but also make me believe that they all could live in the same world.

Oh! And also: if the artstyle involves using lineart, I am really fond of sharp, clear lines with weight variation

sagaholmgaard

I'm curious about what you guys mean with consistency- do you guys not like if an artist's art style changes over the several years it might take to make a finished webcomic? Is it that it peeves you when the backgrounds are done in, say, a painterly style while the characters are done with lineart? Is it when the artists makes ordinary illustration work in a completely different style from their comic pages? (This is genuine curiosity I hope no one's feeling attacked rn ^^)

carcarchu

i personally really like seeing an artist's skills improve and evolve over the many years it takes to draw a series

even at the expense of a more "consistent" final product

sagaholmgaard

Yeah me too, it's one thing i really like about webcomics

chalcara

Can‘t talk about the others, but I get thrown off when one page is sprite comic, the next painterly, third cell-shaded without having a in-story-reasons for those style changes, like flashbacks or pov-changes. But more commonly, the issue’s the classic „comic‘s usually coloured, but oops, this time you only get the pencils because I had no time to update“. If that happens too often and/or doesn‘t get fixed for the archive I just lose investment in the comic.

Art evolution is natural, both in webcomic and published work with a dedicated artist.

Ah, that‘s another source of inconsistency - people switching colourists or even artists around. Once in a while is fine, but if it happens every month or so, I tend to get annoyed by it. It‘s actually why I killed my first webcomic twenty years ago; it was a collaberation and life kept getting in the way forcing me to switch colourists every five pages or so.

carcarchu

oh actually i have read a webcomic where they changed artist's 18 chapters in. i really fell in love with the magical and dark tone of the original artist and was engrossed in the world that they set up. they had a painterly style and it really set the atmosphere of the entire series but then the new artist had a super clean and cutesy art style and the sudden tonal shift really threw me off. in the long run the new artist was actually extremely consistent and better at actually releasing long chapters and very good quality chapters and the writing actually improved too because of it but it was never able to recapture what it was that i really loved about the original art style. also the new artist changed the character designs a little so the heroine was no longer even recognizable as the same person

since it was relatively early in the series i definitely would have preferred if they just got the new artist to actually redraw the first 18 chapters in the new style just so the change wouldnt be so incredibly jarring

chalcara

Any harsh breaks like that will cause some people to break away from the comic, I found. I dumped one of my favourite-for-years comic because the creator got bored by their main character and completely sidelined her in favour of a group of minor characters I had absolutely no interest in.

Didn‘t mean the comic got worse - by all accounts its still beloved by quite a sizable audience - it just wasn‘t for me anymore.

sagaholmgaard

Ahh that I can relate to. I get super attached to the main character and usually have a hard time getting into any spinoffs with the rest of the cast, even if I want to (and im a hypocrite because i also want to make spinoffs for ever side character in my own comic LOL) i guess if the style changed a LOT from page to page that would throw me off too. that feels like the artist is trying to experiment, maybe making sort comedic comic strips would be more acceptable then? Every style would at least be contained to one strip at least

DanitheCarutor

That's... actually a really good question. I don't really go for a specific aesthetic. Sometimes what's going on in the thumbnail attracts me, or it could be the use of color, the style, a character design. I'll check out a comic with just about any art style. I guess maybe if I have an idea of what the creator is going for with their art? Like, the art may have a lot of kinks, but maybe being able to tell what style they're trying to go for makes me want to check out their work? Honestly, I don't have a really strong art bias, as long as the comic is readable I'll go for almost anything. Maybe I won't check something out if the style looks extremely uninspired... like if it were the most generic, based off Japanese cartoons, style ever then I might give it a pass. But even then I do sometimes check it out anyway, so I really don't know! This question is surprisingly hard to answer! To give my last quip about last week's topic, since I don't want to derail the current one. I feel the creator's personal life is no one's business. I understand if they're a legit bad person, but digging into a creator's life to see if they qualify to be supported is... I dunno. This mindset makes me feel that if someone who liked my work ever tried to get to know me, they would be doing it solely to see if I'm good enough for them, which feels really invasive and predatory. I fully understand most people can't just enjoy something, that's how the world is, it just kinda sucks sometimes. The world kind sucks sometimes. Alright! I'm doing with giving my final thoughts on that subject.(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

The question is specifically about what draws you to art, rather than what turns you away so if you don't want to rag on any art styles that's not what it was asking for I think! Though yes it's very closely related (and it's not bad to say what you don't like)

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I definitely am more likely to read a comic that has a distinctive style - no particular style preferences, really. Interesting use of colour/value is definitely a bonus. But as long as it's engaging and the composition is good/readable, I don't really mind whether the art is "good" or not.

DanitheCarutor

@Deo101 [Millennium] I wasn't trying to rag on anything. I couldn't specify what about someone's art would draw me to their comic, it was easier to the one thing that might not, but I still said that I may be drawn in regardless. Sorry if I came off like a douchebag, totally not my intention. <_<'

Deo101 [Millennium]

No I know, someone earlier said "I don't feel like dissi g particular styles" I'll be honest I was typing my post as you were and so I didn't even read yours til after I said something(edited)

Just kind of a general thing! Feels like it went to what turns us away instead of what draws us in so just kinda a reminder of the op

sagaholmgaard

Readability is definitely important for me to want to continue following a comic, but what about the art that makes me want to read something...? I definitely have a preference toward cartoony styles overall. A solid character design will make me wanna check out a comic. If the main character has a recognizable silhouette and interesting shape language. I also love really bold lineart, especially if it's used to create shadow and contrast. Interesting color schemes too. I think how the background is drawn can really make me want to read something as well. I know BGs aren't people's favorite thing to draw but to me if the setting looks very well though out and designed, that definitely motivates me to check something out. And awe-inspiring sceneries are always hella cool! I read a lot of things outside of my artistic preferences though, but I think these are the things that might make me pick something up based only on the art itself.

keii4ii

I think I tend to find more appeal in certain compositions, which is a more subtle aspect of style. I am a major sucker for evocative use of backshots/ not-showing-the-(whole)-face, for one thing. Compositions that make full use of the three dimensional space around the figure(s) is another (this doesn't necessarily mean putting a lot of stuff around the character; you can have a mostly empty space and still make it feel very 3D).

(I hope both of those things show in my own works... I just love those things soooo much )

Deo101 [Millennium]

Oh I LOVE when a panel like... Cuts a face. Something about it makes me lose my mind every time

DanitheCarutor

@Deo101 [Millennium] Ooh! Lol sorry about that! I was so caught up with off computer stuff that I didn't notice anything else typing while I was. I haven't read the whole conversation yet, but I can see how it would turn to that. "What draws you in" is a hard topic to stay on. At least I imagine it would be since it's hard for me to talk about.

Ah! I admit I really like shots focused on scale, specifically ones were you can feel how tiny the MC is compared to what the camera is focused on. Does that make sense? Like the panel shows this ginormous thing, and it has the MC in it to show how massive it really is. That's awesome when done right.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Tiny little person. Yes. Very good

DanitheCarutor

Tiny people in giant worlds are the best!

keii4ii

I love those too!

DanitheCarutor

Oh, also this isn't a webcomic, but I've been interested in reading Vinland Saga after seeing this page on Twitter.(edited)

Something about extremely hideous expressions on semi-realistic faces jives with me.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

What draws me in easiest is the design aspect of characters, environment and the webcomic title! It's a bit of a turn off when the title doesn't look polished. That's one of the main draws for me is an intriguingly designed logo with a catchy name that follows through their chosen aesthetic. I've seen many comics that stand apart from the title image they chose and it's a bit jarring to see! Great examples of wonderful execution of these aesthetics are BlackOut City, O'Sarilho, Sink Your HookTeeth and Shadrunners(obvs there are many more) I have to agree with @sagaholmgaard about backgrounds! There are quite a few creators who avoid them and stick to simple colours and gradients that just dont keep me in the comic- though my fave genres include a lot of world building, so BGs in a romance may not be emphasized as much. Lastly, dynamic character design!! I love a wonderfully crafted cast that allows me to read the characters easily no matter what setting or outfit they're in. Also it's really random but i do love an artist who can draw really good shoes?? That is always a draw in for me (edited)

Capitania do Azar

Oh I meant it in the way that if you spend a lot of time experimenting with different styles and techniques, you'll never be good at any of them. Style and approach changing over time is, imo, inevitable and good :) @sagaholmgaard(edited)

@@FeatherNotes(Krispy) I constantly think my logo looks like crap next to other webcomics', so thank you (edited)

DanitheCarutor

Oh god, @FeatherNotes(Krispy). Titles and logos are legit my weakest point, that part of the comic creation process is the worst! I have this cosmic-horror/fantasy comic I've been developing since 2005, and it took me till just last year to come up with a decent title. It'll probably take another 14 years to come up with a passable logo. Lmao!

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

It is really hard! Because that image/logo and name represents the body of work so firmly, its also got to stand strong with what it's representing and stand up to other titles too! Basically, i like to think of something that will help generate top results when i search on google for the title, which to me helps it stand on its own on the web, and sound catchy enough for pitches in person! I don't want to steer the convo away too much from the prompt, but there is definitely more to discuss about titles and their chosen aesthetics

varethane

@DanitheCarutor have you read Golden Kamuy? If you love hilariously hideous expressions in manga, it seems like it may be your jam lol

(it's also set in a specific historical period and contains a lot of really interesting material about the time/place it takes place in)

Also I feel like I have never, even one time in my life, come up with a good title for anything-- both Chirault and Wychwood are placeholder titles that I used just to kinda name the story for myself, which I initially intended to change when something better came along, and then nothing ever did

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I know I'm generally drawn into a comic if it's just... generally a visual feast? And it doesn't even have to be a beautiful feast - just... a feast! A super intriguing artstyle, beautiful or not, is something for my brain to pick apart and enjoy. Detailed backgrounds, intricate costumes, fascinating presentation/layout... all the way to crazy expressions and fun asides, and even some gory or scary bits to make me go EEK. Basically, if I'm reading it, and my hand is twitching with the prospect of drawing fan art, then I'm in for good.

DanitheCarutor

@FeatherNotes(Krispy) Urg that is such a nightmare! And there are only so many different styles you can do for a logo, and so many variations of words, it's like how there aren't any truly original stories anymore. I got lucky with the title for my current comic, it's the most generic thing ever, but fits in a tongue-in-cheek way. @varethane I've never heard of it, but the face compilations I'm seeing are intriguing! Man, I love stupid facial expressions.

Capitania do Azar

@varethane golden kamuy, I see you are a fellow of taste as well

varethane

(I love it so much)

Capitania do Azar

@DanitheCarutor oh idk about the "only so many things you can do with logos", I've seen amazing things in this world, if there's a limit I'm not seeing it

varethane

(I can always tell exactly when I was binging it because there's a big chunk of my phone's photo gallery that's all screencaps of Asirpa making dumb faces)

Capitania do Azar

@varethane guys shooting each other in the woods? I'm always in for that

DanitheCarutor

@Capitania do Azar Lol I guess? I can't see how you can have an infinite number of designs for writing, while still trying to keep it vaguely readable. But I really don't like lettering, so my imagination is hardcore lacking in that department.

Capitania do Azar

Lettering and logo design are their own fields of expertise, it's ok

meek

Hmm I'm similar to a lot of previous responses where I can't pinpoint a specific style or trend of art work that draws me in because the styles of comics I read differ incredibly. That being said, there are some things that I do look for to keep me coming back: 1) Consistency of style/anatomy: unless there's a specific reason for the general art style to change (not including semi-deformed or chibi versions of characters), I appreciate characters staying proportionate or just otherwise consistent throughout the comic. And art evolution isn't something that's at odds with consistency, it can actually help that by making characters more distinct and easier to distinguish from each other. 2) Potential for art evolution: Almost the opposite of the previous point lmao but if I find a new comic and I see the latest page is of a much higher skill level than the first page, I'm immediately hooked. I want to see the journey. And I want to see how far that journey goes, even past the point where the art "gets good". There's at least one comic that I can think of where once it hit the style that it wanted to, the art has stayed consistent for the past several years but so much so it's almost plateaued and become stagnant. It's still good art, by all means! But I want to see it grow and evolve more. 3) Good panel/speech layout: Okay it's not quite art in the same sense but someone else mentioned this above and I think it's important too? There are so many comics I can think of that I couldn't read or I dropped off at a point because reading was a chore, either because of giant or unsightly speech bubbles, tiny or ill-fitting font, a combination of the two, etc. Sure, graphic design and layout is a skillset completely different from pure illustration, but it's one worth knowing because otherwise you could do a disservice to your art and your story.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@meek Seriously, the text is so important to me, and I consider it a large part of page layout and design

meek

Agreed!! It's something that bothers me with printed comics all the time. I've tried to read so many "classic" graphic novels and I just.. I can't get past the giant text boxes with small font with miniscule kerning and ESPECIALLY if they then add color to it. Please, keep in mind your readers with reading difficulties But to turn this into a positive One of my favorite things that also helps make a comic feel more personal is when the creator turns their handwriting into a font or otherwise have FUN with the speech bubbles

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

YES. As someone with bad eyesight, typography is one of my favorite aspects of finishing a comic page.

Deo101 [Millennium]

It also is super important for me with ADHD, reading is hard enough as is! so bubble layout and clarity can really bring the whole thing together and elevate a comic

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I tried that but got the feedback that my text is hard to read and the way i format my speech bubbles is distracting (: But some people have said they really like it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Though I do think I could have done better with the font. I have good eyesight and bad handwriting do I think i have a much easier time reading weird text than many. Since you guys care so much about text, would you mind taking a quick glance at my comic and telling me how readable it is? It'd be nice getting feedback from random people as opposed to only my readers who felt strongly enough to leave a comment unprompted

meek

Oh man I have this specific panel in mind from some early 2006 Avengers comic of like.. what not to do Basically it was a bright yellow text box with this white/light blue font. It was just. It was a nightmare to read Oh sure!! Definitely send me a link

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yep! Send me a link too! I'd love to help you out

I also have a good typography book to recommend if you're interested. I can drop it into #art_resources(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Here is link: https://www.webtoons.comen/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620

Thanks for taking the time to give me critique!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

The link's not working, but I can probably find it on Webtoon

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

And I think i dould find a typography book interesting, so yes please do send the link

Sorry, i think the link is missing a slash

Did we both delete the link

Deo101 [Millennium]

did we both delete a

yah

i got it

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Thanks

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I found it

(The font is a bit small on mobile, but the font is fine?)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Wait can we move to shop talk?

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

(maybe we can have this discussion on shop talk channel? )

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Sure

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

OH LOL

DanitheCarutor

@Capitania do Azar Oh god, they so are! I envy anyone who enjoys that craft, I'm a lot better than I was, but lettering is still so hard. ;v; At least the fancy stuff is hard, regular speechbubble lettering is easy as long as my hand cooperates.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

There's a book I had to read for a web design course I took, and it is seriously a life saver

It put text in a whole new perspective

DanitheCarutor

I do all my lettering traditionally, but maybe that book would be helpful, I legit hate doing it no matter what medium I use. (sorry for continuing to derail the channel.)

Capitania do Azar

@DanitheCarutor i used a website that converts handwriting to fonts + font forge for tweaks to get personalised fonts

DanitheCarutor

I used to type bubbles out, and I've thought about it for my current comic but I mix up words and letters really bad, and I forget to add words entirely while typing. It wouldn't be so bad if my brain saw the mistakes while rereading everything, although sometimes it takes a couple days or another set of eyes for me to actually see them. When I write the bubbles in with a pen I make a lot less mistakes since it takes more effort to write out each letter, also my brain can keep better track of the ones I do make. I feel like that's an excuse that makes no sense.

Deo101 [Millennium]

no it totally makes sense

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I can't say I'm ever especially drawn in by art? Besides the sense of "it looks like a lighthearted action story and I like lighthearted action stories", not much catches my eye. Though, I will drop a comic if I'm put off by the art. Like I can forgive if some things look janky at the start of the comic, but if that jankiness doesn't improve over time, I'll drop the comic. I'll also drop the comic if the character designs are bad (i.e. indistinguishable from each other, or in rare cases just too gross to look at). But again, I can't exactly say "good character designs draw me into the comic" because a lot of comic banners/thumbnails don't really show off full character designs.

chalcara

Varied bodytypes are catnip for me. And I like comics with expressive characters over comics that limit expressiveness to keep the characters pretty.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh, definitely agree with that second part. Comics where it looks like everyone has had a ton of Botox is a huge pet peeve of mine

Like, eyebrows are not the only part of the face that can move.

Do more

renieplayerone

Yeah i agree with the janky art thought. I think it helps me follow through the jank if i see that the later pages, the artist has shown growth, and i dont want to force anyone into a "gotta redraw it" loop if thats not something they want (of course everyone has their reasons and theyre also valid af) Ill tend to be more forgiving about the jank if i know its someones first webcomic or first comic in general, because you cant learn how to make comics without actually sitting down and making the dang thing. So yeah, the jank can be a double edged sword(edited)

What super draws me in is comics with a great sense of color. While i love anything vibrant, if the softer watercolors are done well, they're chefs kiss. Prime example of that is Stand Still Stay Silent

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I've been thinking about this question all week and I think I finally boiled my answer down to something short, sweet, and to the point. It's gotta be some kind of spooky and some kind of cute I have a pretty broad range of art styles I like and I definitely also read stuff that doesn't fall under those categories, but I think my favorite stories or artists are some blend of those two things. I don't really have a preference between color and greyscale. Like I definitely love a good color feast comic, but if you know how to use your grey tones or even just black and white well it's just as good for me. Maybe that's also just me trying to justify being mostly a greyscale artist to myself TuT

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

@mariah (rainy day dreams) devils candy would def be up your alley then!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Devil's candy v good

renieplayerone

Devils Candy is amazing

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I love to combination of cute monsters and action also.

DanitheCarutor

@renieplayerone I'm not sure if it fits totally with your preference, but if you're looking for watercolor Lost Honey is gorgeous! https://www.losthoney.com/

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Lost Honey is another great comic great to look at, really interesting world

DanitheCarutor

It's one of my faves! ;v; There is another comic that was half watercolor half digital that I used to love reading (if I remember right pages set in the current time were digital, and backstory stuff was in watercolor.), but it has been discontinued for years now. It was called Toilet Genie/D00R, a comic about a genie who was locked in a public toilet and was awakened by a pug that got thrown out by her owners. It was so pretty, with such an interesting style!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Oh wow I haven't thought about that comic in 5 years! X'D I didn't read much of it, because I don't think there was much of it available at the time, but yeah, that one was also very pretty (edited)

renieplayerone

Oh those colors are really pretty!!

DanitheCarutor

Right? Lost Honey is total eye candy. @mariah (rainy day dreams) Yeah, it's sad the creator never got to finish it. I think about it every so often since it's one of the extremely rare (semi)watercolor webcomics out there.

Also I'm extra attached to traditional mediums since I work in a traditional medium myself.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Same. Got that ink wash/watercolor bias.

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

My current comic is marker shaded but I so want to do something with ink wash after this one...

DanitheCarutor

Yeah, right now I'm working with color pencils since they're cheap but I want to give gouache or acrylic a try for my next project, depending on which story I do.

Kabocha

Hm, the question is... a lil' challenging to answer. I think in a lot of cases, the art isn't necessarily what gets me, but when it does -- Sometimes it's when someone uses a resource I like/made and I can go "OOOH! I know that thing you used!" Screentones are another one that gets my attention pretty quick. Sparkles... And probably effective spot color use. As much as I enjoy many full color webcomics, there are many that get tiring to try to read for one reason or another (usually it's either a font or a saturation issue - too many similarly saturated colors near one another gets tiring to read). Also, soft coloring. Oooh, just... when the art feels like it ought to be printed on those soft-touch covers... Yeah, that gets my attention. ...and watercolor/inkwash, too. ... okay that's a lot of things that grab my attention, but tl;dr: oh hey look at all that cool stuff that people can do!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

That was part of what was so hard for me thinking about this question cuz really, a lot of things get my attention X') and the more I thought about it the more I was like "I like when a comic is like X, but oh also Y is great and I do really enjoy Z as well!" I just ... like so many things. But I think that's better than being really picky. I've meet some folks that are super picky about art and basically only like one style and I'm just like... you're missing out on so many amazing things!

Kabocha

Right? And heck, even in some comics where the style would normally be unappealing (to me), there's just something about the art and the aesthetic that clicks to make it all work together for that project.(edited)

I do think, though, that there's always going to be a special place in my heart for greyscale or screentoned comics. There's just something about art that knows how to effectively make use of shading and contrast to make their work... well, work for me.

kayotics

Art is probably the first thing that draws me in to read a comic. The top, top tier thing that gets me to pay attention to a comic is really strong inks. I love inking, and unusual inking styles. To those who know me, that's probably incredibly unsurprising. I also love really angular styles. Some other stuff I gravitate towards: cartoony styles, expressive faces, and kind of ugly characters. I enjoy seeing characters that might be described as plain or are drawn in a bit of an ugly way. The last thing that draws me in? Hands. If an art style pays attention to hands, then I'm all for it.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Does a comic have characters with big, crooked, toothy grins? I'm down for the count X'D https://media.tenor.com/images/618576ebcc4f6d2a12438624be77c54f/tenor.gif

varethane

oh hey, did someone mention webcomics done in ink wash/marker?

Chirault was that!

1367 pages of..... ink with greyscale marker..........

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

honestly blows me away that you toned it traditionally like, all of GJS is inked trad, but to ink AND tone in marker is just.....damn

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I love ugly characters

RebelVampire

When it comes to art, I'd say there are about four factors that will draw me in. First, readability. Can I visually follow wtf is going on in the comic? I have no interest in the visuals if I can't understand what action characters are taking. So the first point is always for if that is true. Second, character distinguishability. Can I tell one character from another? I am notoriously bad even in real life at being able to tell people apart, so when reading for fun, it's super important to me that I don't have to put a lot of effort into telling characters apart (exceptions for identical twins, of course). Third, personal appeal. Do I think the art is pretty or cute? Like, obviously this is subjective so I can't really put into words why I'd find one style appealing and the other not. But ya know, I like stuff I think is pretty to look at. Fourth, backgrounds. If a creator puts a lot of effort into their background scenery, I'm very sold on it. I love beautiful backgrounds, and the effort put into them give me an overall better impression of the comic as a whole. Since it takes some real passion to take care with backgrounds. All this being said, I'm not much of a stickler for art. If a comic is well-written enough, they can fail all these points and I'll still read it. This is just a list of what aspects have to be in the art for it to draw me in.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

My points are pretty much the same as Rebel's, with the addition of a few things: I adore comics with dramatic facial expressions and consistently excellent anatomy. Also, if the art style is unique? If I feel like I've never seen someone draw that way before? That's ++. So good. I've read comics where I thought the art was good but the story was mediocre, but I've never read a comic where the art met all my points (and Rebel's), where it made me go, "holy fuck," audibly, and then had the story disappoint. Comics where the art made me go "holy fuck" audibly: Excecutioner's Academy: The art is so pointy and colorful and detailed and weird. It's full of personality and life and so are the characters. Warning: hiatus comic ): https://tapas.io/series/Ex-Ac Ava's Demon: You guys know about Ava's Demon, right? With original music and animations ending every chapter, this might be the most effortful comic I've ever seen. https://www.avasdemon.com/pages.php#2611 Sfeer Theory: Everyone looks so different from each other, it's fantastic. Some characters are not conventionally beautiful, yet they're still so appealing. And backgrounds! And a thought-out and unique magic system! https://sfeertheory.com/comic/01-00/ Electric Bones: Backgrounds! Banter! http://electricbonescomic.com/index.php/comic/page-001/ I also loved Prague Race, but unfortunately it was cancelled ):

If anyone else has recommendations for comics with amazing art, I'd love to hear them!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

For me, it just has to be an art style I like to attract my attention. I generally like realistic art, stylised art, or pretty much any style that hasn’t been done to death (like generic anime art; much as I love manga, I’m really tired of the over-saturation of bland and soulless anime-inspired art). Pretty much anything unique and well executed will grab my attention. I especially like greyscale and limited palettes.(edited)

And just to clarify, I do like anime-style art when it has expression and/or skill behind it; just not when it looks generic and manufactured. Overall, though, it’s the writing that’s ultimately the most important thing to me in a comic, so I’ll enjoy comics for their writing even if I’m not a fan of the art.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #reader favorites

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ask-icancraft-it · 5 years

Text

Golden Valentine’s

(( Another continuation of ‘Hand-In-Hand Combat’ that I just had to write for Valentine’s Day! Hope you guys enjoy! ))

“Quittin’ time!” Felix let out a contented sigh, finally able to relax after a busy day in Litwak’s Arcade. “Great job everyone!”

He rushed to the roof access door and held it open, ushering the Nicelanders inside. The handyman was just about to hop along downstairs himself when a voice called out to him.

“Hey, Felix! Where’s the fire?” Ralph joked, climbing up the side of the building and onto the rooftop.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ralph,” the handyman said sheepishly. “I’d stick around and chat as usual but— it’s Valentine’s Day!”

“Is that today?” The wrecker chuckled. “I really am a dummy with dates...so I guess you got plans with Calhoun?”

“Oh yes,” Felix’s heart fluttered. He dug into a pocket on his tool belt, revealing a tiny, velvet box. “I’m uh— w-well, I’m—“

“You’re finally making it official,” Ralph lit up. “Happy for ya, buddy.”

“Thanks, brother.” The handyman fumbled with the box, returning it to his pocket. “I just hope she likes it.”

“She will, Felix. I’ll leave you alone so you can get ready,” Ralph took a couple steps before turning back around. “And don’t be so nervous! Remember, she already said ‘yes!’”

Felix chuckled and waved goodbye to his friend. As he descended the stairs to his apartment, he thought back to a month ago.

While a majority of that day was rendered a blur due to a nasty electric shock, he vividly remembered the very moment he had told Tamora he wanted to marry her, and the moment after when she said she wanted that too. And on that day, they proudly announced to their closest friends that they were engaged, even when his lady didn’t have a ring. But that detail would soon be fixed…

Dressed in his best blues and a bouquet of roses in his hand, Felix waited at the Niceland train station for his lady’s arrival. His heart beat faster when he heard the familiar hum of Tamora’s hoverboard. Flying out into the open air, the sergeant made a turn, parking her board on the train station platform.

“Hey sweetums,” she said affectionately, bending down to give her handyman a kiss.

“Hello,” Felix replied dreamily, going a bit limp at the sweet sensation of her lips on his. He looked her up and down when they parted.

Tamora wore a beautiful black slit dress, which generously revealed her legs and the intensely red fabric that lined the inside of the full-length skirt.

“Wow,” the handyman blushed. “Tammy, you look-- you look amazing.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, satisfied with the bright red hue on Felix’s face. “Though flying here might have been a mistake. I think I accidentally gave all of Game Central Station a view of what I’ve got planned for you later.”

“Tammy Jean!” Felix was embarrassed, but Tamora wasn’t; she chuckled at his mortified expression.

“So where to from here?” she asked, bringing her handyman back to the present.

“O-oh, right,” He stammered. “Just this way!” Felix took a few steps before realizing that he was still holding the bouquet of roses. “Oh! These are for you, my lady!”

Tamora smiled, accepting the flowers. “They’re lovely,” she said.

The handyman led her to a familiar, and particularly peaceful spot on the apartment grounds that perfectly looked over the lake. And in that clearing, Felix had set up a romantic picnic.

“Wow, Fix-it,” Tamora said as she sat on the blanket. “Pillows and everything. You sure know how to make a girl feel special.”

“And speaking of,” the handyman smiled as he poured his lady some wine. “Do you remember what’s special about this spot I picked out?”

“Hmm,” she mulled it over with a hearty sip. “Well, I do know this is where you and Wreck-it tend to rendezvous. Pretty sure I’m sitting in the divot your colleague has etched throughout the years.”

“Well, yes,” Felix chuckled, reaching into his pants pocket. “But it’s also—“

“Where we pronounced that we were engaged,” Calhoun smiled knowingly, reaching behind her. “Which reminds me that I need to give you this.”

Felix froze when Tamora pulled out a sleek black box topped with a red ribbon.

“Tammy…” he was nearly speechless as he took the package in his hands. “Honey badger, you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Oh, just open it,” she shook her head, amused. “Carefully.”

Felix placed the box on the blanket and untied the ribbon. And lifting the lid, he gasped at its contents.

Encased in a layer of protective foam was a gold plated pocket revolver.

“Oh, my land...”

“Figured you’d enjoy something a little more your size, future ‘Mr. Fix-It-Calhoun,’” Tamora grinned.

“Oh it’s wonderful,” Felix sat up on his knees to kiss his lady. “A-and it's a little funny, because—“ he gulped as he pulled the tiny velvet box from his pocket, opening it. “Cause I’ve got something small and golden for you too.”

Tamora’s eyes went wide, staring at the beautiful, diamond inlaid band inside.

“It only seemed right to give the future ‘Mrs. Calhoun-Fix-It’ the ring she deserves,” the handyman smiled, gently sliding the band on her finger.

Tamora lifted her hand closer to her face, still stunned. And after a few moments of admiring how it looked on her finger, she leaned down to give her handyman a scorching kiss.

“Jiminy,” Felix sighed when Tammy finally let him breathe again.

“I love it,” she murmured. “I love you, Fix-It,” she added with such conviction, it made a chill roll up her fiance's spine.

“I love you too, Tammy Jean,” he smiled. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

(( Tagging some of my WiR Buddies! @allthefixins , @coneygoil , @kittysfigurines24, @sgtcalhouns, @ashleybenlove, @bashfulgnome, @fix-it-feesh ))

#hero's cuties #wreck it ralph #sergeant calhoun #fix it felix #valentine's day #valentine's #crafty writes #it was hard to find a place to end this story sorry lol

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milkshakedoe · 5 years

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autobiographical drivel

i think one of the early draws to both left social justice as well as lewis mumford / green anarchist / etc style rhetoric for me was how the old man drilled into me this insistence that in order for my life and my work to be worth anything i have to be able to reinvent the wheel in everything i do. i was always paralyzed in learning new things by this notion that i had to tackle them from the ground up without any help except for his poor teaching, and it was always me who was to blame for any hesitation. if i wanted to study programming and game development, for instance, he would make fun of me for relying on tools that anyone else used. the only way i was allowed to learn any form of software development was to code it completely from scratch in java or C-languages. i wasn’t to be allowed to learn 3D modeling software, i had to be able to code my own rendering engine first. and at the same time the goals to which i aspired had to be impossible. when he discovered that i was trying to find work in food service while struggling in college, he screamed and tried to terrorize me for not spending any time i had to search for jobs (between my mental health and the work he forced me to do at home) applying to some IT sector internship with my non-existent skills.

few people completely supported me against him at the time, and even my mother’s solidarity with me as a fellow victim had always been tempered by her inability to resist being guilted into rationalizing why he must be right and she in the wrong. so i came to see everyone around me as potentially suspect. i foundered in that environment with an intense fear of being poisoned by learning nearly anything that didn’t already mostly fit in with the framework of what i already thought. in part it was in spite of him, honing my stubbornness so that i would never succumb to the terror he would try to visit on me with decreasing success in the later years of my life at the old house, even as that unflinching closedness to outside ideas could be traced in part also to the terror itself.

as i began to slowly absorb political material outside of city newspaper columns and forum arguments, insular tendencies and easy moralizations attracted me, not only because of parental violence itself but because of the horrible company i’d fallen in with during those times. and the only way i had ever learned to hash out differences in views was either through violent argument and the threat of disavowal, or total submission and prostration to the other party, with no in-between or outside to that dichotomy. non-absolute commitments are fake, after all! and when disavowal was carried out, disavowal had to be total. there could be no room for error in letting the enemy’s influence win me over again through some fluke; and without any real causal understanding of why and how things that hurt me were hurting me, and lacking any real method for examining my circumstances critically, absolutely everything had to be accounted for, even the most superficial or superstitious details. conversely, fixing any mistakes or shortcomings on my part had to be committed to in total, exacting, superficial detail, which of course led to my exhaustion and emphasis on superficial details to the detriment of real critique or understanding.

i think these are general problems among left SJ types, which eventually drew me toward them, and the general left thinking that insists that you’re either all in it or you’re not a good leftist at all, and all of the idiotic tendency fights. and also, imo, the worse anarchist / green tendencies out there. what particularly resonated with younger me when i read The Myth of the Machine in college was how Mumford’s arguments hinged on imagery and symbolism rather than empirical data; look at this pitiful astronaut, strapped into his capsule, his life dependent on tubes and support; it’s a metaphor for how megatechnics makes us dependents of the megamachine, how the Machine robs the Human of autonomy, and the metaphor is reality, the symbols are reality. growing up, the only craft i had ever been able to hone without interference was my private artwork; almost everything science-related that couldn’t be understood without math and reference to empirical study felt poisoned by the old man who held up his knowledge over my head constantly to tell me that the only thing i was good for was getting him coffee and breaking bricks in the backyard.

i think prison abolition is an opposite tendency to that kind of thing, contrary to what some might argue. i think imprisonment and punishment ultimately serve to perpetuate these sorts of attitudes, the notion that great suffering can be alleviated by (and ultimately only by) destroying its symbolic representatives, often destroying yourself in the exhaustive quest to eliminate all those symbolic representatives in yourself, filling us with a general suspicion (or divine fear) of all our peers and their ideas and to constantly reinvent the wheel - insisting on new words and total re-thinkings to replace ones tainted by symbolic association with bad things, etc, although this is not to suggest that new words and calls for reinvention are inherently bad, this is a specific problem. i think graeber’s concept of morality as debt is relevant here, even if it might be flawed / ‘ahistorical’ in some part (i look forward to finishing pashukanis’ general theory of law and marxism which seems relevant on the subject) whereby punishment takes the form of a collection of debts in a framework where the upkeep of morality in general takes the form of transactions of ‘surplus dignity’ - flattening specific moral relations into fungible tokens, where addressing the fallout of and repair from abuse becomes a process of simply ‘paying’ the victim by subtracting things of equal value from the abuser.

obviously, there are some concerns raised by critics that are worth addressing. how do you ensure that people are able to heal rather than being guilted or otherwise obligated into toxic / abusive behavior, for instance. how do approaches to prison abolition fulfill this without reconstructing prisons? admittedly i think a lot of online prison abolitionist-friendly anarchist stuff i’ve seen so far tends to gloss over this somewhat, figuring that a society of autonomous individuals in free association (whatever that exactly means) will simply hash it out in a way that works as long as we are speaking of a 'truly’, purely anarchist society. truthfully, my own thoughts on the matter remain underdeveloped, but i liked emmy cannibality’s (a leninist) musings . i also really like porp’s words on the matter, even if she has less to say about institutional approaches or even prison abolition as a specific subject per se - but i think the way she speaks of how toxicity needs to be regarded as “a medical issue, as a natural reaction to growing up under capitalism, and neither glorified nor demonized” as well as “a recurring symptom of a national sickness” helps to frame the discussion far more effectively than appeals to the necessity of punishing evil (for prison advocates) or to the individual per se (for many prison abolitionists).

#long post #useless rambling #politics

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anon-luv · 6 years

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Blankets 5FINALE5 [JungkookXReader]

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader (Feat. Rest of BTS)

Genre: Romance/Angst/Smut BadBoyAU!

Summary: A one night stand turned into various visits. No strings attached, or at least that is what you told yourself every time he walked through the door. His first name was the only thing you knew, besides having memorized every sensitive spot that laid upon his skin.

One night you catch a glimpse of his world. One that you had never had the temptation to roam on your free will. Jungkook though was addicting, and your craving for his touches led you to venture into his life. This new found world offering you a freedom you didn’t know existed. The consequences of your actions instead of taking you a step closer to him, formed a barrier. Jungkook’s sweet touches turned rough with rage, his passionate kisses turned possessive, and his comfortable casual talk went to promises/lies of a forever.

Rating: M [Language, Strong Scenes, Drug usage, Sexual Scenes]

Author’s Note: Took me forever.... I AM SO SORRY!!

I lost the original ending because my computer went to laptop heaven so I had to rewrite it. Here you go though. I hope you all like it. I am so nervous about posting this since it was the first fic I have ever written..and to be honest I did not expect anyone to like it lol. Thank you all for your support.

This is the finale, but I do plan to do a small epilogue drabble for this.

Also I will edit it a bit more later...ignore minor grammar mistakes please

DISCLAIMER I DONT OWN THE LYRICS!!! Credit to people who wrote it.

Let Go by Hailey....Steinfield? hehehehehe

Love yall!!

Trigger warning: Drugs, alcohol, and Sexual scenes

Not 100% edited yet. Might have minor mistakes :)

Feedback is greatly appreciated! It makes me Happy!

Word Count: 6.2k+

Blankets

.Part 1. .Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. [Fic Playlist]

MASTERLIST

“I can’t sleep right now, so instead I’ll lie here and imagine better days. Days where I’ll wake up to your arms around me and not your name on my phone. Days where I’ll fall back asleep to the sound of your heartbeat and not the lonely silence of this room. Days where we’ll be together and nothing else will really matter anymore. But should I manage to slip off into a new night of dreams, I hope you know you were the last thing on my mind. You always are.”

Whoever said Love is a blessing was lying…...Love is a curse. Love is a parasite consuming you from the inside slowly and painfully with no remorse. Love is to lose oneself in a feeling without a guarantee of finding love on the other side. Love is pain. Love is a weakness. Love is succumbing yourself body and soul to another person and giving them the ability to walk away at any given time, leaving you with nothing left. Love…...you were completely in Love with him, and you were starting to despise the ill feeling that had taken over your life.

Your sleeping schedule had adjusted to his, in order to have as much time with him as possible. He had become an addiction, an endless craving.

The way Jungkook kissed you had changed along with your relationship. The kisses seemed to last longer, but they also tended to be a lot rougher. He was not as fond of you spending time with Yoongi or any of the guys on your own. He always managed to keep a hand on you when they were present as if he was marking his territory. You had never witnessed such a possessive trait on Jungkook when he was with Tabi. You knew that what you and Jungkook had was a lot more different and complicated than what theirs had been, but you were slightly taken aback on how needy he had become. You didn’t mind it at all for you were just as needy yourself. Jungkook and you spend most of your time locked inside your apartment talking about everything and anything. The blanket had become your haven, and parting with them was becoming almost physically painful.

Winter had come and gone, and the melting snow had marked your anniversary with Jungkook. The day was colder than usual, and Jungkook had finally managed to keep a stable job for longer than a month. Yoongi had managed to wiggle Jungkook into a paid internship in the music studio. Jungkook had taken advantage of the position and started using the studios to create his own music. His singing had become his number one priority besides you. The hang out spot usually lacked your presence, for most of the time that you weren’t with Jungkook you stayed in your apartment waiting for him to come back. The boys stopped at times to say hello or have dinner with you guys, but you rarely hit the circle to fill up your lungs with smoke now at days.

“I miss you,” Yoongi said through the phone “I see you more at the studio these days than anywhere else. The garage is lonely without your presence. Danielle and Namjoon have been glued at the hip by the way. What’s up with that?”

“He must be doing her good,” you said bursting out into giggles.

You heard a yuck from the other side of the line “Too much info (y/n), I much rather not know which places have been rubbing against each other behind closed doors. Which by the way...are you and Jungkook going to get over this whole humping like bunnies stage...it is growing old”

“Yoongi, we don’t hump all the time… we talk in between breaks” you said teasingly.

“Ok that is it, I am hanging up now,” Yoongi said as your giggle turned uncontrollable.

“See you in a bit Yoongi. I am on my way to the studio” you said as the cold wind blew against your face once again.

“Whatever” you heard him say as his other side went dead.

The chilly winter air was canceled out by the warmth of the building that you had just entered. The area was quite roomy, white, and clean. It looked modern and you felt a bit out of place.

As soon as you entered the premises you quickly scanned for Jungkook in the desk he usually sat at. His lack of presence gave you a weird chill down your spine, sort of like an intuition of something that was about to flip your world upside down. Before you could overthink the feeling Yoongi came out of a door and walked over to you, “Hey, Jungkook is in the back recording some stuff, he asked me to tell you to pop a squat. He shouldn’t be more than 10 minutes”

You nodded and took a seat in one of the white stiff couches in the waiting area, Yoongi smiled at you and turned back to the door he had just come out from. He looked a bit hurried as he basically ran back inside what you assumed was a studio.

It had been an hour. Your phone was at 15% and your foot had tapped annoyingly on the floor for the last 30 minutes or so. Finally, Jungkook stepped out of the room looking quite happy, completely ignoring the fact that he had made you wait for so long. He jumped into the couch next to you making your anger and frustration melt away as his lips captured yours in a surprise lock, something that was not appropriate for the public, but as your hands made their way to his soft locks the rest of the world disappeared.

“Gross” you heard a deep voice say breaking you apart.

“Your ass” Jungkook replied to Yoongi playfully as he managed to pick you up and sit you down on his lap “You are just jealous I own this sexy pair of lips ….and I am not talking just about the ones on her face.

“YAH! Jungkook respect your elders” Yoongi replied, but you could see a flash of a strange emotion in his eyes.

You smacked Jungkook on the chest “Stop it Kook! Or I will ground you”

“Oh, please do,” Jungkook said sexily in your ear.

“Ok time to go home,” you said pulling Jungkook up.

“Oh, please do,” Yoongi said mocking Jungkook’s previous statement.

You walked towards the pale man and pecked his cheek “Stop it Grumpy ass”

Yoongi rolled his eyes clearly blushing. Jungkook gave Yoongi a stare, but he just shrugged off the younger boy as he waved you goodbye.

Before you made it out the door you heard Yoongi yell Jungkook’s name followed by a “Don’t worry about a thing Kookie, we will spread that shit all over the stations”

Jungkook’s previous possessive stare turned to one of excitement as his bunny smile spread taking over his whole face.

Before you could ask what that was about Jungkook was already pulling you away towards the apartment, barely giving you time to breathe as he decided to toss you over his shoulder to get there faster. You laughed the whole way back, not knowing what was about to hit you head on and in all honesty as Jungkook ran back to your apartment while whispering naughty things in your ears, you did not give a single fuck.

Change. It was bound to come. It always came when you least expected it. It started that fateful night when Jungkook’s possessiveness took an all-time high. All it took was Yoongi’s hand on your lap for Jungkook to snap. Punches, kicks, pushes, split lips, and a bruised eye later you had grown tired of it. When had your relationship turned into this?? The freedom you had felt whenever Jungkook was present had been thrown out the window. As soon as Jimin and Hoseok split the boys up you pulled Jungkook away as if the place was on fire. You needed an explanation of whatever the fuck was going on.

“Okay Jungkook, are you a puppy I need to get fixed or something? what the fuck is wrong with you??” you asked as you gently placed ice on his swollen lip.

“The real question is what the fuck is wrong with you?? Are you some sort of hot potato that my friends can pass around and run their hands all over??? Are you a hoe now?? Is that your goal? am I not good enough??” Jungkook scram in your face as his face grew a gross shade of red.

For the first time throughout your relationship with Jungkook, you were rendered speechless.

The tears threatening to fall not from sadness, but from complete and utmost anger. Who did he think he was? He had turned your life upside down and he thought he had the right to judge you?

“Jungkook, Yoongi and I are friends, you know that we have been close for a while as FRIENDS.” you replied not knowing what to say exactly to please the man-boy. Your mind running about 100 miles per hour. You just wanted to fast forward ahead and get this night over with.

“Yeah friends, sure whatever you say (y/n)” he said grabbing his beanie and stomping away towards the door, the ice on the table melting….forgotten. He turned to look at you one more time and you could see him fighting a battle inside his dark brown orbs. He walked back towards you and captured your lips in a rough yet breathtaking kiss.

Your hands consumed themselves in his broad back pulling him in even closer. You craved his warmth more than anything in the world. He was your safety net, he was your comfort blanket.

Jungkook bit your lower lip causing you to moan into the kiss intensifying it. He walked you backward into your open bedroom door. He laid you down softly on the bed, and he paused looking down at you. His eyes traveling across your face like he wanted to map out every single freckle as if they were stars in the sky and he was about to become a blind man. You scrunched up your nose getting a bit self-conscious. A gentle smile appeared on his face contrasting the previous argument that was no longer existent in your mind.

You whispered, “I love you”

He bends down to capture your lips “I love you too”

His hands peeled your clothes slowly gracing your skin ever so softly. Feathery like kisses sprinkled across your neck traveling down, marking a path to what you knew was going to shoot you up to the stars.

As he lifted your hips to strip off your last piece of clothing you noted a lone tear escaping his eyes, but before you could ask what was wrong, he thrusted deep into you making you swallow down your questions and insecurities.

The blanket now cocooning your bodies as you moved in sync with each other, a sweaty beautiful mess.

You knew something was off when your eyes opened to an empty bed, empty kitchen, and half of an empty closet. Jungkook was nowhere to be found and neither was his clothes. Even the old worn out ones you had treasured from before you both became an item were missing.

Your hands trembled with anxiety as you reached towards your phone. 25 missed called, none from Jungkook. You ignored the notifications and dialed the number you now had as memorized as your own name.

Disconnected. The line had been disconnected. The beep on the other line ringing endlessly, but you didn’t give up. After 50 calls, your neurons decided to assist you, and you dialed Yoongi. After 3 rings he answered sounding worried.

“Hey, how are you doing?? I heard” he asked in a quiet serious tone.

“What happened Yoongi?? Tell me what the fuck is going on??” you asked breaking down in nervous tears.

Yoongi sighed into the phone “I’ll be right there”

“No don’t. Meet me at the studio” you said in a rush and hung up the phone.

You slammed the door to your car as you turned it on and rushed out of the parking space. Much to your luck, you had gotten stuck at 5 pm traffic. Your anxiety causing you to hyperventilate. You raised the volume of your radio and the ac in your car. Your finger tapping a rhythm against the steering wheel.

You looked anxiously at your watch. It had already been 10 minutes in traffic and the line was still not moving. You regret your decision to take your car.

The radio suddenly caught your interest “And now a brand new song featuring one of our hometown artists who has taken off to the big city with a shiny new contract. We wish you the best of luck!”

Your heart accelerated, Yoongi’s voice telling Jungkook something about a radio station coming into mind, but this couldn’t be Jungkook.

“You made plans and I, I made problems

We were sleeping back to back

We know this thing wasn't built to last and

Good on paper, picture perfect

Chased the high too far, too fast

Picket white fence, but we paint it black

Ooh, and I wished you had hurt me harder than I hurt you

Ooh, and I wish you wouldn't wait for me but you always do

I've been hoping somebody loves you in the ways I couldn't

Somebody's taking care of all of the mess I've made

Someone you don't have to change

I've been hoping

Someone will love you, let me go” Jungkook’s soft voice blasted through the speakers.

Your silent tears had become hysterical. The lyrics to the song hitting you like an 18-wheeler ramming head into your small beat up beetle. The song you were assuming had been written about Tabi.

Arriving at the studio had felt like ages, and when you saw Yoongi waiting for you outside walking aimlessly from side to side as if he was as lost as you, you broke apart in his arms.

He caressed your hair “I promise I had no clue. He said he had told you. He said you were going with him. I even helped him pick out an apartment in the city. He was excited about moving WITH YOU to a new city”

You looked into his sad familiar eyes “Yoongi, how long?”

“What?” he asked confused.

“How long has he known about this? About the city? About the contract?” you asked desperately for answers you knew were just going to hurt you more.

“About 10 months ago, he got scouted by one of our talent agents, and he got asked to write a song and send in a demo. About 3 months ago he started writing a song…….and we finished it 2 weeks ago” he said summarizing the betrayal that had been Jungkook.

Jungkook had never really believed in a future with you. 10 months ago you were celebrating your 2nd month anniversary playing video games with endless pizza and chips, and now as you stared at your broken reflection against Yoongi’s glasses, you came to the realization the song might have been about you.

Yoongi went back to your apartment and made you a burned toast for dinner. He tried cracking jokes, failing miserably at making you smile. You kicked him out nicely at 12am, as your feet dragged you lifelessly to your once shared bedroom. His belongings completely gone, but the memories more present than ever. You made your way into your bed wrapping the blankets around you from head to toe. His scent strong against your nose. You buried your face in his pillow and screamed as loud as you could. You scram and cried till your eyes gave up, and your heart and brain surrendered into a sleeping coma to let your body rest from all the pain.

The next morning you were mad. Scratch that; you were furious. The sadness from the previous day had gone down the drain replaced by outrageous rage. The alarm clock turned on the radio station as if on cue playing Jungkook’s now HIT SONG according to the DJ.

You heard knocking on the door and you stomped your way to open it. The anger glowing in your eyes made Yoongi want to hide behind the brown bag full of donuts he had brought to cheer you up.

The tears in your eyes erupting from a dormant volcano as soon as you saw Yoongi at your doorstep, looking fully awake and quite scared instead of his sleepy grumpy self.

You decided at that very moment that you hated change. You hated the red hair that now lay upon your head, you hated the piercing on your tongue, you hated the way Jungkook’s number was no longer a mystery but carved in your memory, you hated how empty your apartment was, but most of all you hated the emptiness in your heart you could’ve avoided by not letting Jungkook in after that first one night stand.

Yoongi walked into your apartment after building courage setting the bag on the table and starting a pot of coffee. Caffeine had always been the best remedy for his everyday problems, and right now it seemed like you needed a bit of a boost.

You frowned at the dark cup of coffee in front of you as you bit at a donut as if it was Jungkook’s head. Yoongi frowned not used to seeing you in such a horrible state.

“Do I look like garbage Yoongi??” you asked the boy sitting across from you.

He set his coffee mug down and looked deep into your eyes.

“No (y/n), you are seriously one of the most beautiful treasures I have been granted in my life, and you are the closest to a best friend that I will ever have. You did not deserve any of this shit, the problem wasn’t you” he said holding your trembling hand in his large calloused one “I am sorry (y/n) I should’ve tried to keep you away, I didn’t think stuff would end up like this. But just a tip…. sometimes showers are good for the soul…..and other things”

“Yoongi you warned me, you warned me several times and it fell on deaf ears. It is not your fault...it is all mine. I fucked up...just like I always do “ you said with a bitter laugh “Karma is a bitch after all”

Yoongi looked at you with saddened eyes, “(Y/n), whatever you are thinking don’t please. I know you must be thinking the worst right now but give life a chance. Sometimes shit happens, but it happens for a reason. You were too good for Kook anyway. You think you are a fuck up?? Then he was times ten.”

You smiled sadly at Yoongi “You think so?”

He stood up and wrapped his arms around you. His warmth reminding you of Jungkook, but you couldn’t help but notice how much bulkier Jungkook’s arms were. Yoongi kissed your cheek shyly “I know so”

A week. It had been a week and no word from your Houdini.

The sheets now lay cold in your bed, the essence of him still lingered for you have not been able to sleep in the bed you had once shared with the person you thought would be the love of your life. You walked aimlessly around your apartment seeking proof that he had existed, the pictures framed on your wall not good enough to satisfy your need for him.

Why would he leave so unexpectedly right after making love?

You sighed completely annoyed at yourself?

You were being weak while he was in his prime, being showered with all kinds of rewards. You looked back at the blankets, your dry tears in your cheeks feeling sticky against your hand.

If he was done with you, you were done with him.

You had already wasted too much time chasing after a person you weren't even sure wanted to be chased in the first place. You were better than this.

Determined and numb to any Jungkook related emotions you marched towards the bed ripping away the sheets in which he used to lay and walked straight out of the apartment.

Half the blanket dragging behind you like a tail, you walked away throwing them out of your life along with your memories of Jungkook.

There on the floor beneath the bed though, a letter that had been wrapped around the blankets went unnoticed, your name scribbled on the front along with a crooked heart.

----

“I really do not think you should be doing this” Yoongi said trying to take away the lighter that you grasped tightly in your fist. Yoongi was on his way to your flat when he noticed your figure walking around with your bedsheets. His curiosity allowing you to proceed in your strange endeavors, but as soon as your lighter made an appearance it was game over. The blanket had been placed in your apartment complex’s trash, but even then, the mere thought of the blankets existing irked you. Fire was the only answer to your current predicament, and you did not even care about any future consequences.

You lit the corner of the blanket, and before you knew it, a blaze had ignited setting the rest of the trash surrounding them in different shades of orange.

“Holy Shit” Yoongi whispered as the fumes started to make him cough.

The fire growing faster than you would have imagined causing your neurons to properly function again, you looked at Yoongi completely panicking “What the fuck do you think you are doing?? Call the fire department. I fucked up! “

Yoongi nodded quickly taking out his phone

Not even a minute later the sirens blasted through your neighborhood ready to put out the fire in the trash can. You wondered if you stood right in front of the pressured water hose, would it put out the fire that was burning from within your heart as well??

Bullshit.

This was utter bullshit.

“One thousand seven hundred dollars!!! What the fuck? All I did was burn some blankets outside” you scram looking at the court fee you had just received in the mail.

“Well, you did almost light up your apartment building??” Danielle said shaking her head as she sat down in what now was her usual seat aka Namjoon’s lap.

You rolled your eyes at her, ready to argue your case, but before you could Danielle stood up pulling Namjoon along with her. Her slim figure not giving away the Hulk she has hidden within. Namjoon smiled at her like a love-sick puppy. You gagged playfully as she walked next to you ready to head out the door.

She looked at you suggestively as she gave you a wink “Anyway, we better head out. The rest of the kiddos are waiting for us in the Garage. See you there LATER” she said enunciating the last sentence, not really giving you a choice of whether you would make an appearance or not.

“You too Yoongi, behave,” she told him as she bit her lip suggestively. The color of your cheeks brightening as you tried hiding the fact that you had noticed her not so subtle hint at Yoongi.

Yoongi and you had grown closer with the passing months, other than school and work you had spent every waking moment together. The line between friendship and romance growing thinner and thinner by the minute, but when Yoongi tried to jump over the boundary, there was always something holding you back. Jungkook.

Even though he was long gone, you couldn’t shake him off. He was everywhere you looked. He was in the raindrops that kissed your skin in the evenings when memories of him twirling you around as he hummed a song to end it with a slow passionate kiss came to mind. He was in the late mornings when you would wake up at 11, and you would have a tough time deciding whether you wanted a late breakfast or early lunch, when back, when he was around Jungkook, would flip a coin, before you would instead end up having to eat dinner. Jungkook was behind every Superhero movie or comic book, the lines of some memorized due to the endless replays, courtesy of Jungkook. He had become a permanent mark. A tattoo that you thought would wash off with water and soap, but instead, it had turned into a lifetime commitment. Something you sometimes completely despised and regretted while at times you treasured it like it was the most beautiful piece of art.

There were days where you laid in bed, replaying your last day with him over and over again, wondering where you went wrong. Your head commanding your heart to move on, but your heart played deaf not following orders.

Yoongi had been your aloe vera. He had been there for you on your down days when the urge to google Jungkook’s name had become so tempting, you had turned your computer off and on over 100 times. He had studied with you a few hours before your class when you had forgotten to study because Jungkook thoughts had clouded all of your reasoning the night before. He had stood with you in court sharing your punishment over a stupid immature decision because of those stupid blankets. Yoongi had been there, all along from the beginning he had never gone away. Why did your heart keep pining for someone who was no longer there? It was just like chasing a ghost…..

Yoongi’s head rested on your lap while he scrolled through his phone. His eyes moving slowly from side to side as he read an article that was obviously interesting to him. His facial expressions had become easier to read now, and you could tell he was deeply intrigued. You were but a pillow to him at the moment, so you decided to take the opportunity to admire the man who has stood beside you. His long fingers moving fluidly with ease, you could tell easily he played an instrument. His pouty lips hiding one of the cutest rarest of smiles you had ever seen. His nose a little button that sometimes scrunched up reminding you of a little kid. He was cute. He was handsome. Why couldn’t the butterflies in your belly flutter around for him?

“You look a little troubled” Yoongi’s deep voice snapped you out of your thoughts. You looked up to stare into his brown eyes that were now leveled with yours.

“I am not...not at all I just…”

“Did you forget I can read you like the back of my hand?” he said pinching your cheek playfully as if you were a little girl.

You gave him a smile, that unwillingly turned into a pout, “I just don’t get it”

“Don’t get what??” he asked tilting his head to the side.

You stood up from the couch and walked towards the window not daring to make eye contact with him, “Why it still hurts…. Why I can’t move on. Why are there days where I feel perfectly fine like he never existed only to wake up the next feeling like I can’t stand up because I am missing a part of me? I want to know why I did this to myself. I want to know why my brain is telling me to move on, but my heart is not having it. I want to confess that when I look at you I want to love you, but for some reason, something is holding me back….he is holding me back Yoongi, and I don’t know if he will ever let me go”

Yoongi looked down at his hands, his phone forgotten beside him. He looked up at your now hunched figure across from him. Tears flowing down, something that hasn’t happened in a while, at least not in front of him. Yoongi stands up following your footsteps as he crouches down to level your face with his. His hand caressing the side of your face, wiping a few tears before he tilts your head up to look at him. Your eyes shyly meeting his. His breath hitting lightly on your lips as a scent of mint takes over your senses completely hypnotizing you.

Before you knew it, his hand had fallen away from your face, his wide eyes now focused on the direction of the front door.

“Kook?” he whispered in shock.

Your breathing hitched paralyzing you in place, barely gaining enough momentum to face towards the direction Yoongi was staring at.

Jungkook stood there in one of his usual white shirts, his face completely pale as he took in the sight before him.

He looked from Yoongi’s eyes to yours, a look of absolute betrayal taking over his previous shaken expression.

“THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?” he scram walking forward completely furious at the man in front of you.

Before Yoongi could react, Jungkook was already holding him by the collar, pulling his fist back to aim a hard blow right upon his face.

You stood up quickly due to the adrenaline rushing through your veins. The confusion in your brain muted, to try and pacify the upcoming fight.

“Jungkook, put him down, nothing was going on,” you said trying to pry his hands off the man’s shirt.

“What are you saying (y/n), I can’t hear you with all that shit pouring out of your mouth,” Jungkook said completely furious.

His eyes practically glowing red with anger.

“Jungkook seriously let him go, we were just talking,” you said as you soothingly touched his neck, “Please babe”

Jungkook took a deep breath as he set Yoongi back down on his feet.

Yoongi looked confused at the younger boy standing in front of him “What the fuck bro! Where did you go? Why didn’t you call or anything?? We were all worried”

“You didn’t seem that worried a minute ago” Jungkook replied looking directly at you accusingly.

“Hey, don’t talk smack, she didn’t have a clue of where you were or what you were doing, you just disappeared,” Yoongi said trying to stand protectively in front of you.

“What are you talking about?? I left her a note. On the bed right before I left. I was scared, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to drag her with me to something that could potentially fall apart and leave us homeless” Jungkook explained.

You stared at him confused “Note??”

“Yes, I left you a letter, right beside where you were sleeping on top of the blankets” he replied, “Wait did you even read the letter? Did you even see it?”

You looked down completely baffled by your own stupidity. You met his eyes and then scurried towards the room you had once shared with him. The urge to look through every corner for the mysterious letter taking a front seat in your mind. It didn’t even take you 10 seconds to find the letter, it was neatly laying underneath your bed as if it was placed there by magic. The urge to facepalm yourself almost winning over your urge to cry in absolute dismay.

This letter right here was about to mend you or break you all over again.

You looked back towards the door, the two boys standing there frozen in place. You looked at them both as silence took over the room. The letter in your hand felt like it was burning through your emotions. Nothing mattered more than the words written down in that piece of paper.

Yoongi looked at you for a second and then back at Jungkook. An expression of defeat as he uttered “I think I should go”

You looked at him through your tear-filled eyes “I am sorry Yoongi”

“Just….call me. Let me know you are okay before you head to bed” he said as he walked off. Not even giving Jungkook a second glance. Yoongi’s heart had been stomped on and it was all your fault.

“I am sorry Yoongi” you whispered again as your focus went back to the item in your hands.

(y/n),

I am sorry for taking off without saying goodbye, but I know how much you hate them.

If you take 15+ minutes to hang up on a phone call I would never leave the apartment.

I will be back though I promise. I am leaving without my phone or anything. I want this to be as quick as possible to get back to you. Once I assure this is not a too good to be true gimmick I’ll be back for you my love. We will move to the city together and I will make you mine forever. I love you so much and I am sorry for doing this without any prior notice. We have been through so much together already that a few months will be nothing on us.

You can hit me, scratch me, and make me your sex slave for years to come after I come back, but please do not forget about us. Do not give up. Be strong for me my love, like I’ll be strong for you. Listen to my radio shows and tv interviews, you will be mentioned in each one till I am back in your arms. I LOVE YOU!!!!

Your KookieMonster

Jungkook laid in your bed listening to the whole fiasco that had happened while he was gone. A smile of amusement plastered on his face much to your surprise. You were expecting yelling, and an endless number of accusing fingers your way, but all you got were smiles and chuckles in his behalf.

“Why are you laughing??” you said crossing your arms and pouting “I was broken, I hated you, and I am now 2,000 dollars in debt to the city”

“I am laughing because you could’ve avoided all this shit if you did your adulting correctly and actually did your bed,” he said as he stood up and walk towards you.

The tears that you were holding back spilling out like a leaky faucet, “It hurt…. it hurt so much”

“I know babe, but I am here now,” he says cradling in his arms. Those arms you have missed so much.

“I love you so much …..so so much” you whispered as you peppered kisses along his face.

He grasps your face in between his two hands and finally your lips meet. Desperation evident in every lick and bite.

A moan escapes your lips as you let him guide you back into bed. The past is forgotten and ripped away with every piece of clothing that was starting to pile up onto the floor.

Jungkook backs away after both of your shirts are off, snapping you out of your heated hunger. Your arms shooting automatically upward to pull him back to you.

“Wait are you sure you want to do this??” he asked with half-lidded eyes.

The same eyes you have dreamt about every night since you have last seen them were in front of you once again……. And your heart...your stupid heart…..is the one you follow as you kiss him again answering his previous question.

He stops you once again causing you to sigh in annoyance.

“Mood killer,” you say playfully as he scurries to get something from his pant’s pocket.

He pops out a ring and lands himself on one knee.

The confusing in your face is quite evident for her tries to explain what is happening before you reject him.

“It is not a wedding proposal….it’s a promise. I know I fucked up when I left you behind. From now on I promise I will never leave your side, and once we are up and not in debt we will do the whole white dress and big party thing” he says reassuring you.

You smile at him replaying his words in your head and then something clicks “Wait, what do you mean in debt??”

He shrugs his shoulders as if he was a child about to be scolded, “Well I kind of broke the contract when I came back here. I just couldn’t stand being without you anymore….I couldn’t so I left”

“Wait….you know you could’ve called me right?” you asked searching his eyes.

He dismissively shook his head “Not the same, plus I doubted you would’ve answered the phone when I didn’t even give you a proper see you later”

You rolled your eyes…..

“(y/n), my knee,” he said making a faint yelp as he tried to keep balanced “It is getting numb”

“Silly, stand up,” you said trying to pull him up.

“NOT TILL YOU ANSWER,” he said in between his teeth clearly in pain but stubborn as hell.

You looked at the boy in front of you. The one that had made you jump through hoops and see the world in a different perspective in a matter of months. The guy who was a complete and utter fuck up just like you.

You kissed him hard letting every emotion out in that kiss.

He looked at you dreamily “Is that a yes??”

“I’ll let you know in the morning,” you said as you grasped him from the arms and pulled him towards you, your new blankets about to be blessed by both your bodies tangling and fusing into one.

Whatever tomorrow brought doesn’t matter as long as there was a Jungkook in your life….. No matter how, where, or when….as long as he was beside you.

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