#expression aspect

[rubyharleylalonde]

combos i made for ocs!

overachiever of dedication (page+heir of time+blood)

improver of grief (witch+rogue of rage+doom)

sovereign of expression (maid+prince of space+breath)

all designed by @/superxstarzz!

[exilley]

I do sort of wish western anime fans would analyze anime and manga from a framework of japanese historical and cultural context. Specifically a lot of works from the 90s being influenced by the general aimlessness and ennui that a lot of people were experiencing due to the burst in the bubble economy and the national trauma caused by the sarin terrorist attack. I think in interacting with media that’s not local to our sociocultural/sociopolitical sphere it’s easy to forget that it’s influenced and shaped by the same kinds of factors that influence media within our own cultural dome and there ends up being this baseline misalignment of perception between the causative elements of a narrative and viewer interpretation of those elements. It’s a form of death of the author that i think, in some measure, hinders our ability to fully understand/come to terms with creator intent and the full scope of a work’s merits

[femmeloverboy]

You should support, love, celebrate, and uplift trans men's manhood and/or masculinity more than you hate [cis] men. Btw.

[ssaltlicker]

Caitlyn and vi both manage to do masculinity and femininity in such a uniquely lesbian way that im still in shock they were in such a huge piece of media. Like its SO rare to see masculine women that not only arent caricatures but are also still intensely feminine at the same time and vise versa. Having a very masc woman be incredibly caring and loving??? Having a very feminine woman still be dominant without ever compromising her own femininity??? What did we do to deserve this

[a-tato-box]

In your Gravity Falls au ever since Stan met with Ford, he has been: Shot with an arrow, Branded, Strangled, And got infection on his brand

Ford, how do you feel about this?

Now, I am not Stanford Pines, but I assume that'd be the face he'd make in response.

[library-windows]

Kiersau is an old abbey, Andreas, and sometimes even I wonder if it - if we - have outlived our purpose here. . . . Sometimes I wonder if we were meant to change and we just... forgot to.

So here's something I thought was interesting.

Between Act I and Act II, the townspeople of Tassing age and change. Some of them begin going gray (or go grayer). Some grow longer beards or hair. Some have cheekbones become more prominent, or have lines on their face that develop or deepen, even subtly. And of course it's especially obvious with the kids of Tassing, who are growing from babies into children, and children into teenagers.

Even those characters who don't have visual changes to their faces or hair have differences to their clothing to show that time has passed. They've changed, even if it's only replacing or restyling old clothes, or growing out their hair. People have died, been born, gotten married, moved into town, built new businesses, taken up new ideas - the growth and change is often modest, but it's visible.

But at Kiersau Abbey...

... nobody changes - so much so that most of the monks and nuns don't even have different portraits between Act I and Act II, despite the passage of seven years.

For those that do, the only change is to the color of their habit (the seven years between Act I and Act II would encompass the entire period between entering the abbey and solemn profession, so anyone who was a novice when Andreas was there in Act I would have necessarily professed by Act II). The only other one who changes is Aedoc, whose "image" becomes more worn - but even he doesn't change facially. (Compare him to the visible aging of Ill Peter, another elderly male character.) None of the members of Kiersau physically change, visually, in those seven years. No lines on their faces, no gray hair, no wrinkles, no beard growth, no drooping, no aging, nothing.

The only ones who change regardless of the outcome of Act I are Cecilia, who was far more worldly and savvy than her counterpart, more proactive and less caught up in Kiersau as a bubble; and Piero, who understood and accepted that change was inevitable and didn't fear it. And the only way that they could change was to die, and disappear altogether.

And for all that there's been at least one major change to Kiersau with the closure of the scriptorium (and possibly more, depending on Ferenc and Matilda's fates in Act I), almost nothing has changed in terms of how Andreas/the player sees and experiences the abbey. Of those characters in the abbey who have "grown up", Zdena is still half-heartedly tending to the remains of the library under Illuminata's supervision (and Illuminata herself, though she's now Mother Superior, is still in the library sorting books). Lukas is still in the kitchen, and still can't quite figure out what to do without Wojslav directing him. Volkbert is still doing the menial, grubby work nobody else wants to do. He even lampshades how taking his vows hasn't really changed anything except the color of his habit:

I'm a monk now. . . . I still do the same work, but now I have the same robes as the other brothers.

One expects the abbey to change more slowly than the town, given that the monks and nuns aren't likely to be getting married or having children (one presumes, at least); but even those characters who have, in name, taken on new roles are still functionally doing mostly the same things they were doing seven years ago.

The only members of Kiersau that we see change, grow, take on visibly different roles, and age are the ones we see in Act III, after the abbey has been destroyed and they've moved on elsewhere.

Obviously Kiersau Abbey is not some kind of actual pocket dimension where time doesn't move (unless . . . ?). But it's posited even within the text of the game as a deliberate anachronism, a medieval holdover in the early modern age; and it's set against the inescapable presence of the Church's inertia versus the looming Reformation, and the growing social unrest against the feudal status quo. A major theme of the game is the inevitability of change and loss, and how being able to accept it and move on is essential for growth/survival. And it's clear that the stagnation has reached such a point that there can be no lasting change on a social scale in Tassing until Kiersau burns.

So all that said, I don't think the visual contrast between the clear progression of time in Tassing, and the lack of it in Kiersau, is a coincidence.

This is Kiersau, Andreas. You should know by now, nothing here changes.

[cent-scratchnsniff]

hoptal

[just-honey-dewd]

LINK CLICK S1 EPISODE 5.5 - The Silly Goose allegations

This is a post dedicated to collecting instances showcasing Lu Guang's uncharacteristic behaviour throughout the episode. Compared to other episodes that take place in S1, I find that he never actually takes things as seriously as he would elsewhere. Which genuinely raised alarm bells for me, so here's my attempt at providing evidence of my accusations!

1) THE COCKINESS OF THIS MAN

"I don't hit girls" is one of the earliest instances of Lu Guang betraying his mature and sensible image -- specifically displaying immaturity in admitting his incompetence at video games. BONUS IMAGE: Still blushing in the background even after the moment's passed.

2) NOT GIVING HIS FULL ATTENTION TO A MISSION'S DETAILS

Granted, there is precedence to Lu Guang doing tasks in the background while Qiao Ling relays information about the case and client (in s1 e2), but Lu Guang usually spares a glance into the photos before determining whether he'll need Cheng Xiaoshi's involvement.

3) THE SNACKING AND AFTERNOON NAP

This is the only time Lu Guang is seen literally sleeping on the job -- not including the Emma case, because sleeping while the client is inactive is valid practice. In this case, it communicates a carefree disposition that Lu Guang knows he can afford. Which reads differently to how he usually acts during dives that don't require his constant supervision for a long period of time. For example, his behaviour during the first third of the Chen Xiao case -- a mission which partially involved Cheng Xiaoshi remaining on the bench for 20 minutes. The actual goal was getting Chen Xiao's message to Lu Hongbin, the outcome of the game wasn't important -- but Lu Guang remained on high alert and in constant communication with Cheng Xiaoshi (until he went ominously quiet for unconvincing reasons, but that's sth else). Point is, Lu Guang usually remains awake to watch over Cheng Xiaoshi, and doesn't usually snack on the job -- the way he leaves a mess on the table also feels more callous than typical Lu Guang fashion.

4) TIMING RIGHT DOWN TO THE SECOND

"Don't move a muscle!" You don't need glasses to see how extra Lu Guang's being with his insistence on accuracy right down to the second. Does the moment Liu Siwen's foot touches the last step matter in the long run? I doubt it. But apparently it matters to Lu Guang -- who's literally looking at his watch to confirm the seconds -- which seems incompatible for the same guy who teaches Cheng Xiaoshi that the major nodes are what must remain unchanged. It feels like misplaced priorities. Since the mission is "learn Ouyang Bubai's secret move", and the automatic outcome will be losing to him -- the major node won't change if Liu Siwen was slightly tardy or too early. And another thing I find strange are that in similar instances where Lu Guang is timing events down to the second, he's not looking at his watch to do it -- rather he seems to have a sixth sense for counting in sync with time's rhythm: in s1e1 he only opts to close his book audibly in order to alert Cheng Xiaoshi to initiate the event (no need eyeing his watch), and in yingdu e3 he drums his fingers to the last seconds before a canon event occurs.

5) Backseat gaming

This manner of instruction is superfluous and doesn't align with other instances which display Lu Guang's rather hands-off approach to instructing Cheng Xiaoshi. The approach he adopts immediately afterwards is much more successful in aiding him (also note that it's Cheng Xiaoshi who instructs Lu Guang to adopt this approach): CXS: Just predict the attack's direction. I will handle everything else.

Knowing to only give Cheng Xiaoshi limited prompts necessary for him to intuit his next course of action is crucial Lu Guang 101 behaviour. From what previous episodes have established of Lu Guang's character -- he usually knows what to say, and what little needs to be said, in order to coordinate Cheng Xiaoshi to do what is required to meet the objective. This backwards behaviour suggests Lu Guang's inexperience in understanding how Cheng Xiaoshi's mind operates. Inconsistent since the Ouyang case takes place after the EMMA case, which shows Lu Guang utilising the hands-off approach.

6) The genuine shock

Between these scenes, there's a very visible shock marring Lu Guang's expressions that simply isn't present in other episodes, and isn't seemingly appropriate for the context of the revelation, nor with his time traveller status in mind. When Cheng Xiaoshi looks as though he's about to land a critical hit on Ouyang Bubai, Lu Guang sighs pre-emptively -- as though he expects that Cheng Xiaoshi has the upper hand against Ouyang Bubai (though that would also suggest it slipped his mind that the mission was to observe how Ouyang Bubai's secret technique works). Then after Ouyang Bubai's move is executed on Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang's jaw drops. Something we only get the luxury of seeing in s2, when he's possessed by Cheng Xiaoshi. In the next scene, when Qiao Ling reveals the full context of Liu Siwen's determination -- Lu Guang full body flinches, which contrasts Cheng Xiaoshi's relatively conservative head tilt. This is not the body language of someone who's gone through this before.

7) The open hypocrisy

Cheng Xiaoshi points out Lu Guang's blatant disregard for his rules. Specifically "Past and future. Don't ask questions" -- directly involving themselves in Liu Siwen's life is interfering with his future which is technically a violation of that rule. But Lu Guang snubs him with a half-hearted "I came to watch over you."

What we see immediately after seems to be the key to understanding the driving force for Lu Guang joining to support Liu Siwen against his strict rules. If we were to believe this was Lu Guang's first experience with the Ouyang case, he came without the knowledge that Ouyang Bubai would finally surrender and allow Liu Siwen and Ouyang to be married. So he came to witness Liu Siwen's determination first-hand. If this wasn't the first experience, Lu Guang expects Ouyang Bubai to surrender, so he approaches the old man to understand the reasoning behind his stubbornness.

Let's say I'm of the opinion that it's the former... then the question becomes this:

Why does Lu Guang take a particular fascination in Liu Siwen?

To that, I think this scene in particular provides some suggestions.

The dramatic lighting and music accompanying this exchange emphasizes the weight of Lu Guang's conviction in Liu Siwen's resilience. And Cheng Xiaoshi voices the sentiment aloud. "What is it that gives him the strength to keep fighting?"

Following this train of thought, Lu Guang wasn't looking to ask Ouyang Bubai to understand why he finally lets go, but came to watch how Liu Siwen persists against all odds.

Thematically, that's why Liu Siwen has the last words in this episode. He embodies the theme of this episode: to cherish and fight for that which you hold dearly.

[stopper-my-heart]

Heartstopper S1E3: "Kiss" -- A very non-inclusive sample of fantastic acting via facial expression by Joe Locke

You can practically see words running across Charlie's face here. "I don't under- What do you mean?"

Look at this LIP QUIVER after Charlie looks down. This is just before he takes the bold step of moving them from the abstract into the concrete by touching his pinkie to Nick's, and then asking, "Would you kiss me?"

Charlie has been working very hard to remain outwardly patient, calm and positive-neutral after they've kissed. When Charlie asks Nick if he's okay (with an eyebrow twitch of hopeful pleading that escapes his careful containment) and Nick's focus is taken away from Charlie's face, it's safe for Charlie to momentarily drop his mask a little bit. We then catch a glimpse of just how much Nick's answer to this question matters to Charlie before his face re-softens for Nick.

[xxcarnivalheartsxx]

I like both versions of starlight for different reasons but the wembley production is such a strange phenomenon because even though most of the characters are still there and relatively unchanged writing wise, they all feel completely separate from their original versions.

Even the characters that in theory have changed the least, like Dinah, who’s the same gender, and has kept the same songs, plot and lines, pretty much since the beginning, feel like completely different and new characters. Like, obviously there’s the massive changes in costumes, but the way she and others are portrayed is just so different from the way that the characters were originally written to be played that they feel like separate people with the same name. (This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just something I observed.)

And I also think that this really speaks to just how important casting and direction are in defining characters themselves. The chosen actor and the way they’re directed to play the character will always make a massive impact on how the character is received by the audience, no matter what the previously written lines are.

[makofinz]

slick redesign 2.0!!! kept a lot of things the same, changed up a few things. yk. litness. +the wips under the cut :3

pipe tail now gila colored to match her color pallet more teehee

[montygatorguy]

okay okay so yknow how all of the stex characters are intended to be control’s toy trains? here are my thoughts on how that works in controls world (this is specifically with the revival because they feel much more like toys there):

- rusty and momma were both hand-me-downs from control’s dad, they came from the same older era of toy trains but momma was used much more than rusty, which is why she’s more run-down

- greaseball was from a line of trains from different countries and was the american one but control’s british (and never gave her an american accent when they played with her) so she has a british accent.

- the british train that we hear about but never see is from this same line as gb, maybe control lost them and they make up the silly jokes as a way to ”explain” this to the other trains

- electra and the components came as one huge set packaged together, one engine and four trucks. thats why they revival components look so similar, they weren’t meant to be mixed and matched with other sets.

- the champion engines are all from the same line, just with slightly different bases and colors. they were meant to be a kids starting point for their collection (explaining their simple designs)

- the coaches are all from the same line, with control having gotten dinah first, then tassita, then belle, then pearl. control took a while to get pearl and complete the set, so when she arrives the coaches seem really excited because control is happy to finally have all four.

- the fuel trucks originally only had three in their line, just porter, lumber, and slick. but, a while after their line was released the company that made them learned that scientists were starting to try and use hydrogen as an eco-friendly fuel. so they tacked hydra onto the line as a way to promote environmentalism to kids. this is also why the fuel trucks seem annoyed by hydra trying to join in with them, he wasn’t originally part of the set.

[sparklingdemon]

i know sorrow's quote was in referral to blue but i feel like it could also be applied to leaf/green herself and abandon lonliness: i am's new ending from a meta standpoint if you think abt it hard enough……….

i mean. did we not see OP try to rewrite history in order to prevent the tragedy of lonliness and leaf rotting in hell? do we dare to forget - to erase what she did to lonliness? can she be forgiven now that it never happened in the first place...?

[wu-wakfu-undertale]

my turn making my friends watch smth and it was wakfu (said sounding scared to death), so heres a yugo ig

[aus-by-fwoosh]

The Hero from the first Calamity, who with the aid of Guardians and the Divine Beasts fought Calamity Ganon 10 000 years before BotW.

Descendant of Mineru, he is the last one with obvious Zonai heritage (as Sheikah live about 50 years longer than Hylians in my headcanons, not as many generations have passed for them compared to the Royal family, which is why this Link looks more Zonai than what the Princess does, though I don't know yet how I want her to look). This Link in turn will be the ancestor to Purah and Impa, and while his kids and grandkids will have some of his Zonai features (e.g. slightly elongated faces/short snouts, small tails, patches of fur, etc.), the third generation after him will look like almost completely like any Hylian.

As much as I love the Hero's Aspect I kinda think it would've made more sense story-wise if he had worn a version of the Ancient Set from BotW rather than the Zonai gear from Rauru's era, as he was contemporary with the Ancient Sheikah Technology rather than the Zonai technology. Which is why my version of him has this armor, with a tiara like headpiece with a fake third eye and horns to honor the First King of Hyrule ᕕ(°▽°)ᕗ

[sainteclectic]

the thing that's vital to understand about cccc is that they have reasons for what they do. but also, and this is important, they all kinda suck

mind is doing what he believes is best for them. he wants to be the perfect solution to every problem. he's also arrogant and incredibly petty, gloating and bitching every chance he gets about how much better he is than heart. he pretends his own feelings are just logical conclusions, while also devaluing other people's feelings. he sucks!

heart was never listened to by mind. he knows he's "weak and vile" but believes (rightfully!) that emotions are needed to survive. he also literally shot someone, refuses to admit that literally shooting someone is bad, and stubbornly both complains he's not listened to and never listens to anyone else. he sucks!

soul is exhausted. he's gone through this countless times, enduring the same arguments over and over. he just wants it to stop. so, he exerts as much power as he can over the two of them and threatens their lives. he's simultaneously both the most in control (of the three) and powerless (in the narrative), and he tries to control the other two for his own ends (even if those ends are ultimately good for them all). he sucks!

the story of cccc is ultimately about guys who kinda fucking sucks for their own reasons. the story is about the raw, unsanitized experience of mental illness. of course they're all deeply fucked up! removing their flaws is just re-sanitizing the purposeful mess that is the album and its characters