#180 angel

[wingshowdown]

ROUND TWO - DAY THREE

[sat-in-a-rat-trap]

Lilith: Sam is like life

Thammuz: Awwwww, because she's your life?

Lilith: No, because life is short

[archivyrep]

Evil Anna and How I Learned to Love Archival Manipulation [Part 3]

Reprinted from part 2

In the case of this webcomic, the unnamed female archivist is fulfilling a social role that former SAA president Randall C. Jimerson wrote about in 2007.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on Apr. 3, 2021.

He argued, in an article on the subject, that archivists and record members must speak out against manipulation of records, limits to information access, and abuses of power. [5] He also warned that archivists can manipulate the past deliberately or subconsciously when engaging with the archival record. He further noted that control through "manipulation of the archival records," abuses of power, and limited access to "vital information" shows the dangers of misusing power of records and archives. [6]

He added that archivists should commit themselves to prevent the profession from "explicit or implicit support of privileged elites and powerful rulers at the expense of the people’s rights and interests." Whether this has been fulfilled since his article or not is up to the reader, but there appear to be more community archives and more archivists aware of their social role than there were in 2007.

Anna's final threat to the archivist

There is a possibility that the Hall of Records will make a reappearance in a later issue of the webcomic, although recent issues have mostly been a flashback to fill out the backstory, which helps deepen the story that much more. In any case, it was fun to do a little research, although not comprehensive, on this topic, about actual manipulation of archival records, the role of archivists, and connect it one of my favorite webcomics! Since I have so many webcomics I'm reading now that there is a distinct possibility I will come across archives once again.

This has become a common topic on this blog as I've written about 180 Angel, Always Human, That Awkward Magic!!, and Lore Olympus in the past. My good friend may end up using some of these concepts in my ongoing fiction series too, especially the one which features a non-binary archivist of color named Mx. Lawlor, who heads the Steamland Archives and Museum (SAM), or even the related series about the magical land of Avalor, which has a thriving archives! I'm proud of what my friend is doing.

Anyway, I look forward to your comments and look forward, hopefully, to some other posts on here soon!

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Update: In a recent issue of the webcomic, Gyorg claims that the birth of Manny drove a wedge between himself and Maxwell, even though it wasn't Manny's fault, as he wasn't born yet, and he is resentful toward Gyorg, with Manny facing challenges ahead. Commenters noted that Anna and Margo caused the wedges, not Manny.

[redstrewn]

We have 22 hours we can still do this

Here are my appeals

Appeal 1, if you like brainwashing:

Im looking you in the eye im smiling so sweetly i outstretch my hand "together we can see pirate ais. Think of ocudeus as a sea monster. No, no, anyone can draw maid ais. However, official pirate ais is the choice. It is just. It is right. It makes sense, doesn't it? Look into your heart. Search your feelings. You know it to be true. Don't deny it. Give in. Give in to pirate ais. It is the way."

Appeal 2, if reverse psychology is your thing, or dont like being told what to do, or like to rebel:

Hahaa nooo dont pick pirateee. Psssh pirate? Don't pick that. Not pirate pssh. I'm telling you not to pick it. Don't you dare pick pirate. NO!!

Appeal 3, if you like underdogs:

We are losing! Don't you want the little guys to win? Don't you want the sweet victory of the tides turning in our favor? The triumph of succeeding despite the odds. A win from struggle and blood sweat tears. A legendary moment.

Appeal 4, tits:

If you pick maid ais you will not likely get a display of tits. With pirate however? There's a chance. A display of breasts in a new frame...doesn't the impressive set deserve a new look? Tits in a new light. New shirt new outfit but he could still serve tatas, watch.

[sailorstarr-chan4]

Some of my Favorite Manga That Deserve an Anime Adaptation

Red River (28 volumes)

😍😍😍 !!!!!!!! *gestures dramatically at the screen* I just!!! I cannot scream this enough!!!! This forgotten gem stole my heart in 2020 and I cannot get over it. In a word, this series is: passionate. Exquisite. UNDERRATED. 😭😭😭 It's a historical isekai romance that is full of political intrigue, erotica, brilliant characterization, GORGEOUS art, and great action. This manga is the reason why I wrote 3 out of the 8 non-crossover Red River fics that exist on AO3 lmaooooo. IT'S JUST SOOOOO GOOD!!!! I never finished a series longer than 7 volumes within less than 2 weeks, and completely online, no less! It's a damn shame that it's so hard finding even physical copies of the manga to own, because dammit, I NEED!!!! 😍😍😍🥺🥺🥺 I would straight up CRY from joy if an anime adaptation was ever announced skgjfdfkjgdf (but I doubt it'd ever happen 😭)

MAO (14 volumes and counting!)

I mean, it's only the legendary Rumiko Takahashi's latest work, COME ON. It has Takahashi's usual touch in the art style, themes, and motifs, but is also wonderfully refreshing, with all new memorable characters and low-key one of her BEST main ships of all time. The game's afoot, and there's mysteries to unravel with deeper conspiracies beneath them all, all with a hot immortal doctor and a feisty girl who shares his curse with a cat demon thing (a byoki, to be precise). WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE?!

FAKE (7 volumes)

Yes, there's an OVA 2-part special. No, it's not enough. This bitch is thirsty for MORE. 😍😍😍👀👀👀 Yuri on Ice may be the first "yaoi" to steal my heart (I only put quotations because there's no porn lol), but FAKE is the first "official" yaoi to make me SQUEEEE while reading. Yes, this older series is not free from some of the unfortunate trappings of older yaoi series (*cough* noncon issues! *cough cough*), but I think what makes it work is that it's never pushed too far. And honestly, the mysteries surrounding their work as private detectives was so compelling, that it was almost like they never had time for shenanigans.... until after they fell in love 👀👀👀 Or, rather, after Ryo FINALLY accepted that he's gay AF for Dee lmao. Also: points for Dee being an openly bisexual man, who constantly corrects those who call him a homosexual. For the 90's??? That's surprisingly progressive.

Angel Sanctuary (20 volumes)

Yes, there's a 3 episode OVA. But it only "covers" the first 2 volumes out of TWENTY. This series is absolutely gorgeous: the Gothic inspired art, every panel is just dripping in angst, detail, and passion. The incest takes a backseat for the REAL drama, a savage dressing down of the hypocrisy of Christian ideals in a world where even the realm of Heaven is corrupt and full of sin. Dark, angsty, deliciously sinful, and a thoughtfully cynical yet inspiring commentary on what makes us human (even if you're a devil or an angel), it is an absolute CRIME that this series was never made into a full-length anime. If other controversial anime can be made/adapted in this day and age, then why not give this classic, forgotten gem a try, anime studios?! 😤

The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross (11 volumes)

Arina Tanemura's art is simply *chef's kiss* She has such a Shoujo Style that is unparalleled. Two are of her earlier works were made into beloved early 2000's magical girl anime series: Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Full Moon wo Sagashite. So why not THIS?! It is such a deliciously absurd Drama that is addicting and frustrating as hell. It's also just a truly touching tale of how family baggage can be so damaging to people's perceptions on love, relationships, and self-worth. It's a series that's near and dear to my heart, and I'd love to see it animated one day.

Kitchen Princess (10 volumes)

This adorable series is 90% fluff, 10% ANGST, with some of the cutest art styles imaginable. If you're itching for a series about food that doesn't go batshit like Food Wars (I love that show, but I can understand that it can be, er, overwhelming lol), Kitchen Princess invites you in for tea and cake and holds your hand as you eat delicious desserts that warm your soul. It is just a sweet, sweet story, with an abundance of fluff, but enough angst and hurt/comfort to balance out the cutesyness. Definitely a comfort food series that NEEDS AN ADORABLE, WHOLESOME ANIME AND CUTESY SOUNDTRACK, DAMMIT!!!!

Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden (12 volumes)

If the original series can get an anime, then SO CAN THE PREQUEL, DAMMIT!!!! Genbu Kaiden took what is good about Fushigi Yuugi, and made it better. The protagonist is a thousand times more likable and stronger, both physically and emotionally. The dramatic scenes are far more effective and don't rely on Soap Opera BS. And the art has improved! GENBU KAIDEN DESERVES MORE LOVE!!!

Arisa (12 volumes)

Don't let the cutesy art fool you: this is one of the darkest series I ever read that didn't kill off the entire cast. With the right soundtrack and animation studio, this could be a downright chilling show to watch, without resorting to Higurashi levels of terror and violence. I don't Do horror at all, but the psychological thrills and twists of this dark series kept me invested, frightened, alarmed, and entertained until the very end. I would love to see it animated one day.... 👀

Shinobi Life (13 volumes)

THE BODYGUARD ROMANCE BEFORE YONA OF THE DAWN MADE IT COOL!!!! 😍😍😍 Lol, but in all seriousness, this series is SO GOOD!!! Now that I finally own all of the physical copies published in English (which is only half, because this world is cruel 😭😭😭), I cannot WAIT to dive back into this world of time-traveling ninjas and reincarnated princesses and adorkable relationship shenanigans, with an added bonus of backstory ANGST.

Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar's Game (7 volumes)

Listen. LISTEN. I DEMAND AN ANIME BASED OFF THIS MIND-BOGGLING TRASH, and no, not just that joke of a "movie" that is even somehow even more incoherent than the countless manga spin-offs. Not all of us have the patience or understanding to play the games, pleeeeeease 😭😭😭

~~~

Honorable Mentions:

Fairy Cube (3 volumes)

First of all: fairies. Second of all: this tiny 3-volume series is such a clusterfuck of chaos, lightning fast plot points, that if stretched out to even a 12 or 13 episode series would probably make it coherent AND give justice to the story.

Alice 19th (6 volumes)

Same logic to Fairy Cube: I just want someone to take this mind-fuck of a series, because, in the right studio and director's hands, it'd be soooo amazing!

Otomen (17 volumes)

Honestly, I barely remember much of this adorkable series, other than the very refreshing and honest takes on gender, gender roles, and gender identity and how all are similar and yet separate. It would be nice to see more representation in mainstream anime, even now.

RG Veda (10 volumes)

Once again: a 2-episode OVA does not an anime make. Literally I just love the art and mythologies. And it's one of CLAMP's earliest work, and is low-key their most gorgeous. Imagining this story animated to today's standards would be *chef's kiss* AMAZING!!! 😍

Kilala Princess (5 volumes)

Let me make one thing absolutely clear: this will never happen. Ever. Never ever ever. Not in my lifetime, certainly, as long as copyright laws exist. If Kingdom Hearts is never gonna get an anime/animated show adaptation, then this cutesy manga sure as hell won't. But GODS I WANT IT!!!!!! 😍😍😍🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭 It is every childhood Disnerd's self-insert dream come true sdkjgdjfgr

[mifithemuffin]

I want Zack and Ray to lay so low after their escape that eventually the back alley murderer becomes an obscure and lame creepypasta that tons of people make fun of just the way it happened with slenderman

[scribble-games]

[wurmwizzard]

angels have no gender, but lots of sex. 🎲

[shootinwebs]

( spoilers: hazbin hotel s1:e6 )

headcanon that if alastor had been there in the club scene and had witnessed val being a creep to niffty, let's just say angel's contract would be done sooo fast, and alastor might even give angel a kiss on the forehead for protecting his surrogate daughter

[queer-deoxys-jizz]

I'll add more once I'm sober BUT I HAVE TO KNOW WHO DIES

[wingshowdown]

ROUND ONE

[archivyrep]

Two webcomics focus on archivists, secure archives, and "soul records"

Although I mostly write about animated series on here, apart from past posts about Always Human, That Awkward Magic!!, and Lore Olympus, I come across some archivists in some of my favorite webcomics, specifically Power Ballad and 180 Angel, the former of which I mentioned on Twitter back in December.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on Mar. 20, 2021.

Let's start with Power Ballad, a lesbian superhero romantic comedy by Molly Brooks, a well-regarded illustrator. In the fourth episode, Meera mentions her ex, Sydney "Syd", to her boss, Carina Peterson, who worked as an archivist at her art collection in the past. They later meet with Diane and find the art paintings they are looking for in her vault in the basement of her house.

Then in the seventh episode, Meera meets with another one of her exs, Emmy, and comes with Carina. Emmy, an assistant curator at the museum, shows them around an exhibit that had been vandalized recently, noting that the real pieces the thief wanted to steal are in their "secure archives" only accessible to museum staff, with high-quality reproductions on display. Finally, in the 13th episode, they talk about an art piece stolen from the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) archives and of course, Meera knows someone who works at the crime lab, another one of her exs.

Then we get to two episodes of 180 Angel, by King Katbird. In episode 39 ("Discovered"), protagonist Chloe Samael "Sam" Heavenwood goes to the Hall of Soul Records in order to get directions to the office of Sereph Celeste. She talks with her about becoming a Seraph and there is a list of "unregistered soul records" which have a label saying they shouldn't be filed. Then in episode 40 ("Calm Down"), Celeste tells her that no one can know about how her hair changes colors with her emotion and that she has to learn to control it. Apparently, her dog stole a record from the Hall of Records, and she calls it a library. Unfortunate that this comic lapses into the library=archives idea.

Even so, these webcomics continue the long tradition of fictionalizing archives, which dates back to Graeco-Roman times. As Sharon Wolff pointed out in 2018, due to the lack of public exposure that archivists and professionals in the archival field have, it means that "fictional representatives" of archivists become an "important way to give people an idea of what they do."

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[cryptiduniverse]

it’s a good time to have a creative streak (semester’s about to start and i won’t have any freetime to actually do anything about it)

[Image description: a collection of four digital drawings of the same person against a white background. They have brown skin, red eyes, and curly hair worn in a fluffy ponytail. Their hair is dyed in two-tone and is black on one half and white on the other. They are wearing a set of gold earrings and a matching necklace that have the symbol of a circle with three short prongs. In the first picture, their whole body is visible, and they are wearing a seafoam green tunic with loose elbow-length sleeves and loose, dark grey-green pants. They are wearing one black sock and their other foot is bare. Under the tunic, they are wearing an asymmetrical black top that leaves one collarbone visible. They are smiling with their eyes closed and a seafoam green speech bubble with a heart is drawn next to them. In the next two pictures they are wearing the same outfit, one of them drawn in profile from the shoulders up with a serious expression, and one from the waist up where they look confused. The fourth image is a full body drawing where they are wearing a seafoam green tank top with the three-pronged circle on the chest and loose pants with a big, loose grey-green sweater that is slipping off their shoulders. They are still wearing only one sock and are looking off to the side with a mischievous smile. End description.]

[aewinning]

This is your friendly warning to blacklist hsr and/or sunday if you're not into Star Rail or don't like Sunday or don't want spoilers because it's been two weeks and I'm too ferally obsessed with this man to hold off on a Sunday reblog flood in my queue any longer.

[scribble-games]

I pretend like I’ve only just noticed you; I smile, appreciative, inviting, like, hey, come on over here.

Of course you come to me. Who wouldn’t?

I am, unfortunately, in need of phone repair money. So I've written a special short story for Ko-Fi supporters. It's 2700 words from Angel's POV, covering their first meeting with 180 and the events of Chapter One of Aegis Project, and you can find it right here.

From up on the balcony, the casino floor stretches beneath me in a multicolored wonderland of vice. People flock to the levers and the dice and the never-ending whirl of the roulette wheel in the evergreen knowledge that this will be the time their luck changes. They bleed money into the house’s insatiable maw, soothe the pain with alcohol, and return again.

It’s the kind of scene I normally love.

I’m bored out of my fucking mind.

[lilas]

smth quick and explorative