it’s that time of year again folks

there is a collective four brain cells between the coates trio and diana is in custody of all of them

as much as i love caina, there was such a missed opportunity to make them platonic gay besties

@itsjustafayz @novemcritter

here's the character tier list i used! can't wait to see your guys'! 😊

Maybe I’m grasping at straws here, but I feel like the overall quality of the Monster trilogy, at least in comparison to the original series, suffered, in part, as a result of the sequel/reboot/remake culture/mentality so prevalent in Western entertainment today - a product of late-stage neoliberal capitalism’s insistence that art must be able to turn a profit in order for it to be even considered for production at all. I’m not accusing Michael Grant of being a scheming, greedy capitalist or saying that the Monster trilogy was a calculated move designed solely to maximise revenue. What I am saying, however, is that the commodification of art under late-stage neoliberal capitalism is so mainstream and so normalised that this mentality is bound to be internalised by artists and creators - even those who set out with the best of intentions - whether they realise it or not. This, in turn, has noticeable effects on the quality of the art that is produced, especially when you employ elements of ‘nostalgia-baiting’ (the ‘the dome is gone, but gone is back’ subtitle plastered onto the first book) in order to market it to a demographic you know will be receptive towards it (fans of the original series), even if it deviates so heavily from what gravitated fans towards it in the first place.

sam temple hate post

sam's such a jerk i'm sorry!! he literally cheated on astrid--who's been ever-faithful and helpful, literally trying to make things easier for him and giving him advice at every turn--with a 12-year-old bc--gasp--the girl he's literally known was christian since he met her didn't want to have sex with him bc her faith was the only thing keeping her sanity intact, the only thing keeping her together. but who cares about that, sam's horny 🤪

A response to this post by @gone-series-orchid. The fact that the narrative is insistent on the idea that ships like Sam x Astrid and Caine x Diana, even despite all their “conflicts”, were destined to be or whatever has always rubbed me the wrong way. It’s true that there will be conflict in any relationship, but stalking your S/O, guilt-tripping them into having sex with you, and then proceeding to go and cheat on them when they refuse are not examples of healthy, natural conflict - they’re signs of ABUSE!!! And in the case of Sam x Astrid in particular, all these instances of “conflict” were initiated and perpetuated solely by Sam. Astrid is the victim, the one who has to be subjected to Sam’s abuse. And yet, she is the one that is villainised by the narrative.

And don’t even get me started on the way that the “other women” in these relationships, namely Taylor and Penny, are depicted. Penny is literally described as crazy and Taylor is described as stupid for harbouring perfectly normal feelings for young, developing children. Not to mention the way that Penny and Taylor, two women of colour, are effectively pitted against white women (or at least that’s the case with Taylor), with the narrative framing them as being less than desirable compared to their white counterparts.

Sam with Caine and his crew at the end of Gone

I’ve been rereading a series that I haven’t read for at least a decade? If anyone remembers the Gone series by Michael Grant? So yeah time to draw some of the characters!

I watched Heathers for the first time with my friend the other day and absolutely loved it so of course i had to draw the heathers as my other favourite fictional trio

Went with the musical outfits cause they r cooler🕺

Gone-charov

Sorry guys it has to be done

i think that critiquing the way mg wrote diana’s arc and how it is perhaps too focused on how it relates to male characters, especially caine, is of course valid, but i also think that there isn’t enough focus on how the second half of the series flips it. diana’s arc is heavily reliant on caine; her manipulation of him, her conflicting feelings of love and disgust towards him, her sexual relationship with him and their child that she misguidedly hopes will be her redemption, that is in fact a harbinger of more death and destruction. but caine’s arc in the latter books is almost entirely structured around diana’s. his desire for her was always present, whereas diana only confesses her feelings for him later which gives him the power in their relationship when he refuses to confess back (power is caine’s motive in almost all aspects until diana leaves him). diana leaving him to start her own redemption arc is what forces caine to start his - he begins to sacrifice power to others, work to help others without reward as part of a team, he tells diana he loves her (sacrificing his emotional power) and then dies to save her. that arc does not exist without diana, and without diana’s arc.

hail hail cause the king is gone!

Wanted to make a design for caine sooo bad bc honestly. he is the coolest character i love this dude + wanted 2 include the staple crown cause i love the scene

Diana ladris aesthetic <3

Hers was so difficult to do surprisingly

Love her tho <3