#it usually leads to me learning something new about a character's design

[izunias-meme-hole]

Okay, I keep hearing about the stuff about “TOTK is Pro-Imperialism” and I want to share my thougths.

TOTK isn’t Pro-Imperialism, but it isn’t Anti-Imperialism either

This debate has been surrounding The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom for quite a bit, so I’m just here to state my thoughts on it based off of stuff from previous games, and stuff from in-game to try my best to form the clearest possible explanation to all of this. I apologize if this sounds like ramblings, I’m just trying my damnedest to condesce my thoughts on this matter into one post.

Point 1: Rauru is flawed, but not a monster

A fair amount of people think Rauru was the real evil, primarily due to the imperialism, but the reality is not exactly that. Rauru genuinely is a good man, and doesn’t exactly match the image of a conqueror or malevolent being in the end, but he does fall into an archetype the series likes presenting; The Questionable Hylian King. King Rhoam and Daphnes both fall into this category by both being men who would do whatever they can to preserve the Kingdom of Hyrule, but they aren’t exactly great people. Rauru however is a unique case, because despite having a good heart, he is still questionable because of how he was planning to build his kingdom, the stash of Zonai Secret Stones that were just kept in the castle at the time, and based off of how he planned to handle Ganondorf before the bastard became the Demon King, he didn’t consider the potential problems. 

As for the Imperialism, based off the scraps of info we have on the Zonai, and the fact that Rauru even considered on having that be the base for the system that Ancient Hyrule would function on once, it leads me to believe that the Zonai Civilization was most likely an empire that lived in the skies that mostly kept to itself and was around since Skyward Sword. Still, empires are destined to fall, and as a result, only 2 young Zonai were left, Rauru and Mineru. I think that when Rauru was founding Hyrule with Sonia, he was most likely thinking about the Zonai Civilization, and what aspects of that he could carry over into this new kingdom. Still, it’s clear that when building Hyrule, the one thing he DID consider was that he wanted a kingdom and land that would bring peaceful and orderly, and he might’ve flirted with the idea of a United Hyrule after finding out about the other races and civilizations.

Rauru if anything, wanted order. He wanted Hyrule to be a land that wasn’t sullied by evil, and he had good intentions and a good heart, but his methods were flawed at best and just garbage at worst. If anything, Zelda and Link are meant to basically are meant to look at him and learn what NOT to do when rebuilding Hyrule. Order may be something that’s usually associated as something good, but it just depends on who’s trying to establish it.

Point 2: Ganondorf has a motive and it’s one that brings only chaos

I hear talks about how Ganondorf has no motive in this game, but that isn’t the case here. This is mostly denied with some lines of his english dub and his motive is explained clearly in the Japanese dub. He, much like his other incarnations, is one of those antagonists who follow “The Mandate To Heaven,” which is basically a “the strong thrive while the weak perish” mentality that was used by a lot of real life emperors and conquerors, however there’s also another element to his character that seperates him from other incarnations of the character. He’s an embodiment of chaos and is aware of it.

Look at Ganondorf’s Demon King design, and his personality in this game and tell me that he isn’t chaos incarnate. Ganon has ranged from being a classic villian, a tragic villain, and magnificent bastard as a human, to a generic doomsday villain in his beastial forms. But here? He’s aware of his capacity for causing chaos and uses it to his advantage to ruin Rauru’s attempt at establishing order. Not only that, but he believes that hard times make people strong, and that anyone who desires peace is a coward. He and the Gerudo have thrived in a chaotic environment, The Desert, however while the rest of the Gerudo wish to just be left the hell alone, Ganondorf wished to extend his reach across the land, and after becoming the Demon King, his first act was to revive dead monsters, reintroducing chaos into the world as a result. He abandoned the Gerudo for the sake of his goal to dismantle the young Kingdom of Hyrule and turn the land into a hellscape where only the strong can thrive, a hellscape ruled by him, a king who MUST crush any opposition and rule.

This is a similar, yet different take on Ganondorf that not only remains true to his kingly mentality, but carries a chaotic and destructive energy that helps cement him as a true enemy to order as a concept, and not a king who’s selfish heart caused him to go power mad (OOT, TP & WW) or a genuinely good leader who still carries a monstrous and power hungry side to him (HW). This Ganondorf is not just evil, nor is he just a conqueror. He’s the enemy to peace and order, no matter who’s trying to establish it, all because peace and order doesn’t align with his worldview.

Point 3: Zelda is not a monster, but she does carry an impact

This one should be obvious, especially since Hyrule was still realing from The Calamity, but apparently it isn’t. Zelda is the last Hylian Royal in the present, but not just that. She’s been helping people recover, alongside the Shiekah too. She’s probably kept in touch with the Gorons, Rito, Zora, and Gerudo during that time and helped them too, and considering that she was friends with their champions, it gives her even more reasons to help, despite the fact that she would’ve tried to help anyway. Zelda in all of her appearances, especially in BOTW and TOTK is a genuinely good person, but unlike Rauru, she’s only concerned with peace and is careful with her steps. Remember, she DID question Rauru’s plan to keep an eye on Ganondorf. Sure it’s her duty to ensure order, as The Princess, but she genuinely believes that peace should be the objective of any royal. Zelda is willing to do whatever she can for peace, but she knows that there are certain paths that she cannot tread, unless she desires to abuse her power, and this is why she values wisdom, and this is why people trust her as much as they do.

Ganondorf’s puppet copy of Zelda did some heinous shit with her face, but even then, it still managed to fool some people. The puppet was designed to take advantage of that trust, and put people in distraught. In other words, when the REAL Zelda came back, you bet your ass that shit was set stright.

Point 4: The imperialism is just… existing in ancient hyrule, and is never glorified or demonized

Yeah, imperialism is implied, but it’s not glorified or demonized. It was just there for Ancient Hyrule before Ganondorf threw the land into chaos. Aside from that, based off of everything we know about BOTW and TOTK, whatever imperialism was in going to be in Ancient Hyrule, it didn’t see the light of day BECAUSE of the chaos created by Demon King Ganondorf. If anything it was just known as a thing exclusive to that era, and I explained Rauru’s deal. It’s almost like the imperialism was just a thing of the past and nothing more, a failed byproduct of a founder who was flawed as a King.

Before anyone brings it up, yes, the Gerudo of the past (TOTK Memories and OOT) are different from the ones in the present, and they even fought Rauru, but juding by how their leader revived a bunch of long dead monsters and tried to turn the world into his “only the strong survive” dreamland, it makes sense why they ditched him, it’s the same reason why the Gerudo centuries after OOT are allies of Hyrule in the BOTW timeline. They may have their problems with the hylians and men, but they’d rather work with them than pave the way for Ganondorf to bring them to ruin.

Conclusion: ToTK is not propaganda, it’s just a simple game with a piece of lore that has imperialism

As I said in point 4, the game isn’t pro imperialism, but it isn’t anti imperialism either, it just brings it up for the flashbacks as the implied system of government Rauru probably wanted to set up (Which I theorize was due to the Zonai Civilization being something akin to an empire that kept to itself before inevitably falling) for the purpose of genuinely wanting peace and order, and when the war against Ganondorf begins, that idea falls apart because chaos is sweeping the land and Rauru basically sacrifices himself to stop it, and Zelda at the end of her journey learns from the founders mistakes.

Hope this helps, but it probably won’t ☠️☠️☠️☠️

[physalian]

On Writing Theme (Or, Make it a Question)

An element of story so superficially understood and yet is the backbone of what your work is trying to say. Theme is my favorite element to design and implement and the easiest way to do that? Make it a question.

A solid theme takes an okay action movie and propels it into blockbuster infamy, like Curse of the Black Pearl. It turns yet another Batman adaptation into an endlessly rewatchable masterpiece, seeing the same characters reinvented yet again and still seeing something new, in The Dark Knight. It’s the spiraling drain at the bottom of classic tragedies, pulling its characters inevitably down to their dooms, like in The Great Gatsby.

Theme is more than just “dark and light” or “good and evil”. Those are elements that your story explores, but your theme is what your story *says* with those elements. 

For example: Star Wars takes “dark vs light” incredibly literally (ignoring the Sequels). Dark vs Light is what the movies pit against each other. How the selfish, corrupted, short-sighted nature of the Dark Side inevitably leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom—that’s what the story is about.

A story can have more than one theme, more than one statement it wants to make and more than one question to answer. Star Wars is also about the inevitable triumph of unity and ‘goodness’ over division and ‘evil’.

Part of why I love fantasy is how allegorical it can be. Yes I’m writing a story with vampires, but my questions to my characters are, “What makes a monster? Why is it a monster?” My characters’ arcs are the answer to my theme question.

Black Pearl is a movie that dabbles in the dichotomy between law-abiding soldiers and citizens, and the lawless pirates who elude them. Black Pearl’s theme is that one can be a pirate and also a good man, and that neither side is perfect or mutually exclusive, and that strictly adhering to either extreme will lead you to tragedy.

Implementing your theme means, in my opinion, staging your theme like a question and answering it with as many characters and plot beats as possible. In practice?

Q: Can a pirate be a good man? A: Jack is. Will is. Elizabeth is. Barbossa is selfish and short-sighted, and he loses. Norrington is too focused on propriety and selfless duty, and he loses.

Or, in Gatsby.

Q: Is life fulfilled by living in the past? A: Mr. Buchanan clings to his old-money ways and is a sour lout with no respect for anyone or himself. Daisy clings to a marriage that failed long ago, to retain an image and security she thinks she needs. Myrtle chases a man she can’t ever have. Her husband lusts after a wife who’s no longer his. Gatsby… well we all know what happens to him.

The more characters and plot beats you have to answer your theme’s question, the more cohesive a message you’ll send. It can be a statment the story backs up as well, as seen below, questions just naturally invite answers.

—

Do you need a theme?

Not technically, no. Plenty of stories get by on their other solid elements and leave the audience to draw their own conclusions and take their own meaning and messages. Your average romance novel probably isn’t written with a moral. Neither are your 80s/90s action thrillers. Neither are many horror movies. Theme is usually reserved for dramas, and usually in dramatic fantasy and sci-fi, where the setting tends to be an allegory for whatever message the author is trying to send. That, and kids movies.

Sometimes you just want to tell a funny story and you don’t set out with any goals of espousing morals and lessons you want your readers to learn and that is perfectly okay. I still think saying *something* will make the funny funnier or the drama more dramatic or the romance more romantic, but that’s just me and what I like to read.

When it is there, it’s right in front of your face way more often than you might think. Here’s some direct quotes succinctly capturing the main theses of a couple famous works:

“He’s a good man.” / “No, he’s a pirate.” - Curse of the Black Pearl

“What are we holding onto, Sam?” / “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” - LotR, Two Towers

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” - LotR, Fellowship of the Ring

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” - Horton Hears a Who

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” - The Dark Knight

“Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!” - The Great Gatsby

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” & “Life finds a way.” - Jurassic Park

"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind." - Lilo & Stitch

“But… I’m supposed to be beautiful.” / “You are beautiful.” - Shrek

“I didn’t kill him because he looked as scared as I was. I looked at him, and I saw myself.” - How to Train Your Dragon

“There are no accidents.” & “There is no secret ingredient.” & “You might wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.” - Kung Fu Panda

*If any of those are wrong, I did them entirely from memory, sue me.

Some of the best scenes in these stories are where the theme synthesizes in direct dialogue. There’s this moment of catharsis where you, the audience, knew what the story has been saying, but now you get to hear it put into words.

Or, these are the lines that stick in your head as you watch the tragedy unfold around the characters and all they didn’t learn when they had the chance.

When it comes to stories that have a very strong moral and never feel like they’re preaching to you, look no further than classic Pixar movies.

“Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” - Ratatouille

“I’m not strong enough.” / “If we work together, you don’t have to be.” - The Incredibles

“Just keep swimming!” - Finding Nemo

Ellie’s adventure book, to live your own adventure, even if it’s not the one you thought it would be - Up

The Wheel Well montage, to slow down every once in a while, because in a flash, it’ll be gone - Cars

The entire first dialogue-less section of Wall-E, to stop our endless consumption or else

The real monsters are corporate consumption - Monsters Inc

One cannot fully appreciate happiness without a little sadness - Inside Out

With enough loud voices, the common man can overthrow The Man - A Bug’s Life

A person’s worth is not determined by their value to other people - Toy Story

These are the themes that I, personally, took from these movies as a kid and later in life. If I remembered the scripts any better I could probably pull some direct dialogue to support them, but, sadly, I do not have the entire Pixar catalog memorized.

—

After you’ve suffered through rigorous literary analysis classes for years on end, the “lit analyst” hat kind of never comes off. Sometimes you try to find a theme where none exists, coming up with your own. Sometimes you can very easily see the skeleton attempt at having a theme and a message that came out half-baked, and all the missed opportunities to polish it.

Whatever the case, while theme isn’t *necessary*, having that through line, an axis around which your entire story revolves, can be a fantastic way to examine which elements of your WIP aren’t meshing with the rest, why a character is or isn’t clicking, how you want to end it, or, even, how you want to approach a sequel.

Unfortunately, very, very often, a movie, book, or season of TV has a fantastic execution of a theme in its first run, and the ensuing sequels forget all about it.

No one here is going to defend Michael Bay’s Transformers movies as cinematic masterpieces, however, the first movie did actually have a thematic through line: “No sacrifice, no victory.” They didn’t stick the landing but, you know, the attempt was made. Where is that theme at all in the sequels? Nonexistent. They could have even explored a different theme and they abandoned it altogether.

Black Pearl’s thematic efforts fell away to lore and worldbuilding in its two sequels. Not that they’re bad! I love Dead Man’s Chest, but to those who don’t like the sequels, that missing element may be part of why.

Shrek and Shrek 2 both centered on their theme of beauty being how you define it and no one else. Fiona finds true love in her “true” form, then strengthens that message in the sequel when she has the chance to be “normal” and conventionally attractive, and still chooses to be an ogre, to be with Shrek. Shrek 3’s theme is…? 

When it was never there, that theme is missing isn’t so obvious. When it used to be there and got left behind, it leaves a crater in its wake everyone notices, even if they can’t pinpoint why.

—

TLDR: Theme is more than just vague nouns and dichotomies. Good, evil, dark, light, selfishness, altruism, beauty, ugliness, riches, poverty, etc are what your story uses. Your theme is what your story has to say with those elements, using as many characters and plot points as possible to reinforce its message. Is it necessary? No. Is it helpful and does it lead to a richer experience? Yes.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Daima: Oops! All Babies

I think the word is already out on this thing. Turns out all the rumors about a new Dragon Ball anime featuring a de-aged Goku were mostly true. But it's not "Dragon Ball Magic", it's "Dragon Ball Daima". And while the Supreme Kai is in the trailer, so are a lot of other characters, so it remains to be seen if he's in the lead like the "Magic" rumors had suggested. As far as the name goes, "Daima" is apparently a word Toriyama made up, so "Magic" may have been a best-guess attempt to translate it into English, or maybe it was a working title used behind the scenes, sort of like how they called "Return of the Jedi" by the name "Blue Harvest" during production.

Anyway, the trailer features lots of characters being turned into small children, not just Goku. Some characters are unaccounted for, most notably Gohan. I'm not sure how to interpret this. It could mean he's not in the show at all, and he was unaffected by whatever caused this. But my guess is that they only had so much footage they could put in the trailer, and someone decided Kid Gohan wasn't very helpful from a promotional standpoint. I mean, we saw a lot of Kid Gohan in DBZ. Showing a Kid Gohan in Daima might have led to confusion about the show's continuity.

I'm not... particularly interested in the adults-turned-to-kids gimmick. I don't hate it, but it doesn't mean much to me. The characters look adorable, and that's great, but it's not exactly groundbreaking.

What does interest me is the message from Akira Toriyama at the panel where they unveiled the trailer. I like it because it gives me some assurance that Daima won't fall into the same pitfalls as GT. Let's discuss.

A transcript, first, in case you couldn't read the image at the top of the post:

Hello. I’m Akira Toriyama.

I’m currently working on a new Dragon Ball. The Title is “Dragon Ball DAIMA”.

“DAIMA” is a made-up term, which in Japanese characters would be “大魔” or in English would be something like “Evil.”

Due to a conspiracy, Goku and his friends are turned small. In order to fix things, they’ll head off to a new world! It’s a grand adventure with intense action in an unknown and mysterious world.

Since Goku has to make up for his petite size, he uses his Nyoibo (Power Pole) to fight, something not seen in a long time.

I came up with the story and settings, as well as a lot of the designs. I’m actually putting a lot more into this than usual!

Things will unfold that close in on the mysteries of the Dragon Ball world. Hope you enjoy these different-from-usual battles that are cute and powerful!!

— AKIRA TORIYAMA

All that really matters here is the part where he says why the characters get turned into kids. "Due to a conspiracy, Goku and his friends are turned small. In order to fix things..."

I spent like two months this year complaining about Dragon Ball GT, and pointing out all its various flaws and shortcomings, and here Toriyama sums it all up without even really talking about GT at all. The big problem with GT was not that they turned Goku into a child. The problem was that they turned Goku into a child and then did nothing about it.

I know a lot of fans like GT, but that isn't the point. The point is that when Goku turns into a kid in the first episode, it's presented like a big problem, an obstacle the hero must overcome. The implication is that Goku has to go on a quest to restore himself to normal. Except that's not the problem. The Black Star Dragon Balls are the problem, and Goku can't even think about using them to turn himself back, because they'll destroy the Earth.

So the viewer might be led to assume that the show is actually about Goku learning to adapt to this second childhood. Well, no, because he very quickly decides that it doesn't matter much to him. The only real drawback to his kid body is that for some reason he can't teleport or use Super Saiyan 3. But then he discovers Super Saiyan 4, which can teleport and it's stronger and stabler than SSJ3, so yeah he's arguably better off than he was before.

So what was the purpose of making Goku a kid in GT? I don't know, I guess Toei thought he would look cool that way. Well, fair enough, but that's like giving Goku a haircut, or a new pair of shoes. You don't market a show on a mere cosmetic change. GT presented Kid Goku like a problem that would be central to the series, and then did their best to ignore it for the next 63 episodes. And this hurts everything else they tried to do with the show, because all of the villains and aliens and battles ring hollow when they don't have anything to do with Goku being turned into a kid. If GT could have fixed that fundamental problem, it might not have fixed everything I hated about GT, but it would have at least made the show feel more satisfying to watch.

What I'm driving at here is that Toriyama understands that you can't just de-age your characters for no reason. There has to be a plot-driven reason behind it, or it's just a cheap gimmick. And there is a reason in Daima. There's a conspiracy, and somehow it led to Goku and the gang getting turned into kids. This isn't just Emperor Pilaf making a stupid wish without thinking. Someone did this on purpose. I don't know why someone would do this. Maybe it's an unintended side effect of some other action, but it's still a deliberate action that will set the plot into motion.

And this version of Goku may not care about being de-aged, just like the GT Goku didn't care, but Daima Goku is still going to do something about it. We know this because "In order to fix things, they’ll head off to a new world!" The conspiracy is a problem to be solved, and Goku's going to go to this "new world" to solve it.

This is important. I can't stress it enough. This is why Akira Toriyama is so good at what he does. I'm not saying he's flawless, but most of the criticisms I see leveled at Toriyama don't hold water. The guy knows how important it is to connect all the story beats together.

Of course, Daima could still fall flat. I mean, the Zamasu arc was terrible, so maybe this thing will turn out to be a stinker too. But at least I can rest easy knowing this won't just repeat all the mistakes GT made.

[aihoshiino]

chapter 138 thoughts

ruby's honkshoosnorkmimimi pajamas are back fuck 137 this is REAL cinema

All joking aside, there's a lot less to talk about in (MOST) of this chapter, though that's obviously by design. This is a cool down chapter (FOR THE MOST PART) to give us (SOME) breathing room in the aftermath of the RBKN fight and while it's not totally devoid of substance, it is for the most part just a good time spent with some members of the cast who haven't gotten as much focus lately and it does what it sets out to do pretty well, aside from some minor gripes here and there. I won't lie, I smiled a ton while reading this one even if I don't have so much as half as much to say about it as I did 137.

That said, my first gripe off the bat is the biggest one which is, once again, the total lack of reaction from Aqua to… literally anything that just happened. 135 didn't really go that deep into his feelings and despite 136 very deliberately highlighting Aqua's presence during the filming of that pivotal scene and even focusing on his stunned reaction to Ruby's adlib, he is jarringly absent from 137 and the return to Aqua focus here (even if we are still being excluded from his POV) feels all the more sudden and strange for not patching that back up. I've already said a ton about what I think of Aqua being written this way recently so I'll just reiterate that if this is an intentional choice, I still really don't like it.

Moving onto things I did enjoy about this chapter: basically everything else! For some reason that panel of Taiki outside Aqua's place in his car absolutely fucking killed me, if nobody makes an edit of him saying GET IN LOSER WE'RE GOING SHOPPING i'm gonna have to do it myself. frill's lil sippy drink too. god bless.

Taiki and Frill are honestly kind of he MVPs of this chapter. Their banter is fun and Frill is, as usual, an unparalleled delight. Her inviting Memcho along and casually admitting it's because Mem is her oshi……. Frill is the most powerful Oshi no Ko character because she can effortlessly flirt with girls AND boys. Bisexual women truly are stronger than God.

himekawa crashing his car is like the funniest thing that's ever happened in this manga imagine being the wettest funniest most pathetic little failboy in a manga where aqua hoshino is the lead character

mem continuing to be the last person to realize she's in the manga she's in was also really good. the psychological toll of being the only normal person in oshi no ko

The talk that the gang has when Mem finally starts putting two and two together is basically my other only gripe about this chapter, though I do really like it in a lot of other ways. Mem's expression when she finally puts together just how young Kamiki would have been when Himekawa was conceived and what that means for both Kamiki and Airi was more excellent expression work from Mengo -- tbh she has been killing it on the character work in general these last few chapters.

This does, however, imply something very interesting about the movie which is that Kamiki's victimization at the hands of Airi may not be part of it. If it was in the script, this would not be new information to Mem the same way Himekawa and Aqua's relationship is but she seems genuinely sincerely aghast when she puts it together. This (AMONG OTHER THINGS) raises some really interesting questions as to exactly how Kamiki (or 'Boy A', as it seems) is being incorporated into the movie's story and how his relationship with Ai is going to be portrayed.

From here, this potentially recontexualizes Himekawa's lack of reaction to the script. He didn't learn this information through those means and in fact seems to have taken the role specifically because he already knew and because he feels some sense of responsibility or even just a desire to take on and purify the weight of the sins his parents committed. This does resolve my issue with how quickly Himekawa seems to adjust to this new information, because it turns out to not be new info… but it does end up just sort of coming back around to my original issue of Himekawa not being given the time or focus to process this.

Honestly… now that I think about it, it's kind of a lot worse?! Given what he shared of their (presumed) family history with Aqua in chapter 68, it's pretty clear he had no idea what Airi had actually done. Aqua himself only finds out the truth in chapter 98 so we can presume he shared this info with Himekawa at some point… just, you know, entirely offscreen with no indication this had happened or that they were still in regular contact and, once again, with no time or focus spent on Himekawa finding out and coming to terms with the idea of his mother being a child rapist. We've had almost 40 entire chapters since that point… are you really gonna tell me we had no time for that??

It's frustrating for a lot of reasons but mostly because it makes this conversation fall a little flatter than I think it COULD have if we had more time following Himekawa as he processed his feelings about it. Just one of those things I wish OnK would take more time to breathe with.

rip himecarwa we'll never forget you

ANYWAY. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE REAL STAR OF THIS CHAPTER. BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK

i'm only mostly kidding here the explosion of kamiki thirstposting in the wake of this chapter was so funny we are all hoshino ai

Anyway, all joking aside, this was a really interesting conversation in terms of the implications it has for Kamiki's involvement in the movie. Off the bat, it addresses the issue that's been kind of the elephant in the room which is that you can't just… make movies about real people without their permission! This chapter explicitly clarifies that everyone involved in the movie gave their permission for it to happen (which explains some of the in-universe fictionalized elements; without permission to do certain things, the story has to be changed to accommodate it) but that the movie equivalent of Kamiki doesn't even have a name. Given that this is a movie intended to 'kill' Kamiki as revenge, it raises some shrimptresting question as to wtf the final product will even be

This also confirms Kamiki to be at least a step or two ahead of Aqua here; some folks were speculating that he had Nino as his spy on the production but given Kaburagi's presence here - and the fact that he most certainly seems to know more about Kamiki than he's letting on - it looks to me like my man already has people at the top feeding him information. Not only that but he's sponsoring the very movie supposedly set to destroy him? Very shrimptresting… I don't know that we'll find out what Kamiki's up to anytime soon but hearing more about his involvement was exciting anyway.

also just one final shout out for that final page of Kamiki. It feels like Mengo changed his design a bit so he's not so much of a flat out Aqua Clone and I do like said changes. my man hasn't slept a DAY since ai died.

[feather2004]

Why Wukong might be suffering nostalgic depression and how his clothing tells us this

Just to get this out there I’m not a physicist, this is just something I pieced together whilst studying Wukong’s character design. Also replies are turned off for this post idk, but I’ll trying to fix it.

The ‪Hanfu appeared in China more than three thousand years ago and is said that it was clothing of the legendary Yellow Emperor, a great sage king of ancient China. The basic of Hanfu was developed in time of Shang Dynasty, from 1600BC to 1000BC. “With the beginning of Western Zhou Dynasty Hanfu began to a be method of distinction between classes.” (History Of Clothing, 2023) “The Hanfu is now worn during some festivals, ritualistic ceremonies (such are coming of age or rite of passage), by historical re-enactors and by monks and priests.” (History Of Clothing, 2023) ‬

I believe this article of clothing is important because the show is supposed to be set in the modern day of JTTW and so as a result most characters in the beginning of the show are dressed suitably with a more modern attire. However, Wukong was the exception to this with him being the only character that dressed in fully traditional clothing for the most part; now this could have been done to simply make him recognizable, but I think it’s deeper than that. 

I believe Wukong's traditional clothing at the start of the show was a method to show that despite how he may present himself, Wukong in the show is trapped by his past and ruminating on his failures as a hero and as a friend. And it shows that Wukong clings to his past successes to cope and hide from his insecurities, constantly bragging about his heroic deeds whilst skipping over his mess-ups and refusing to admit responsibility. “Longing for the past (something you can’t reclaim) can fuel dissatisfaction with the present. Nostalgic depression, then, can describe a yearning coloured with deeper tones of hopelessness or despair.” (Those Happy Golden Years: Coping with Memories That Bring More Pain Than Peace, 2021, Crystal Raypole)

‪It also appears to be a visual theme to the show that characters who cling to the past like Wukong have a more traditional clothing style, but characters who embrace the future even gods like Wukong have amore modern appearance. A good example of this would be this shows version of Chang'e who has fully adapted to the modern day and has an outfit that is a clear reference to sailor moon and is even a TV host and a popular one at that. ‬

‪As you can tell The characters who are focused on the present are clearly designed with a more modern appearance in mind, but the characters stuck in the past all wear traditional clothing and have clearly stayed close to their origins. This could be for a myriad of reasons such as a longing for the past or to caught up in what happened to them that they are completely incapable of moving on. ‬

‪The only time we see Wukong in a modern style of clothing is during Season 3 where Wukong is forced to leave his comfort zone and is forced to interact with a friend group again; due to the threat of the Lady Bone Demon being so great he can’t just solo this adventure as he usually would and has to learn how to work with people again. ‬

During this arc we see Wukong’s credibility as a teacher and a friend being questioned and he is also forced to face a lot of his passed mistakes. This is also where Wukong first stars wearing semi modern clothing, as he is no longer hiding from the world and the new connections he is making with MK and his friends; this to me symbolizes Wukong making the first few steps to come to terms with his past and embracing his present however, he isn’t fully there yet as he is still lying to MK and the group and is dogging responsibility for his mistakes. “you hid it from all of us why? Were you afraid you were going to have to tear me apart” (Mei, Lego Monkie Kid, 2022) “we trusted you all of us how could you lead us into a fight without a real plan! Time and time again I’ve watched you put MK in danger leaving him to figure everything out on his own. Don’t you realize you hurting the people wo care about you the most!’  (Mei, Lego Monkie Kid, 2022) Which is why despite his progress he still clings to his old habits aka his more traditional style clothing.   

‪This is interesting to me because as stated by the series creators “the story of JTTW is very much about making peace with yourself and making peace with other people” (A Lego Journey To The East, 2020) However, despite this being the fundamental core of the story Wukong seems incapable of this with him being combative with others, deceitful and completely incapable of facing his past mistakes or even addressing his past at all. ‬

‪This theory is amplified more in Season 4 as during this season we get a good close look at the monkey kings past and what he was like before the advents of the journey. This design is a clear homage to Havoc In Heaven’s (1961) design of the monkey king, its copy’s the clothing to the letter.

Whilst this may just be a cool reference to the Chinese fans, I think it has a double meaning; as during this season Wukong is trapped inside a memory scroll which is designed to trap people in the past. This all but confirms Wukong’s refusal to move on from his history and his clothing clearly represents this due to it literally being a physical manifestation of a past iteration on the monkey king. ”getting caught up in an idealized rewrite can leave you comparing your present day to a past you didn’t actually enjoy all that much. This yearning can eventually factor into emotional distress, including symptoms of depression.” (Those Happy Golden Years: Coping with Memories That Bring More Pain Than Peace, 2021, Crystal Raypole)

‪So, in conclusion I believe The character designers for this show are displaying Wukong’s unhealthy clinging to his past with his clothing choices which can clearly show us the character arc the writers are intending for him. Whilst also displaying the themes of the show, which is moving on and self acceptance.         ‬

‪Through this research I have discovered that Wukong may very likely be experiencing nostalgic depression in the series but what is it, and what can it tell us about the creator's intention with Wukong's character and how his environment might be contributing to this. From what we can tell Wukong’s depression seems to stem from his broken relationships and loved ones lost, ”still the same Wukong, doing whatever he wants with no regard for others” (macaque, Lego Monkie Kid, 2022) which seems to have led to the monkey isolating himself not leaving his home Flower Fruit Mountain for at least 1000 years given the era the show takes place in ”The Monkey king Vanished never to be seen again…” (Lego Monkie Kid: A Hero Is Borne, Tang, 2020) We also know that “Nostalgia often surfaces when thinking of loved ones, both those you haven’t encountered in some time and those you no longer spend time with. If you lost a friend or loved one and feel like you never got real closure, this nostalgia may feel even more distressing.”‬

This can also be seen by the state on Wukong's home/environment, which is completely in ruin showing no signs of care or upkeep being put into it. The only exception might be his house but even then, it’s clear he has a hoarding problem with literal mountains of stuff from his past that he can’t part with ” The Journal of Clinical Psychology has identified depression and anxiety disorders as potential risk factors and underlying causes of compulsive hoarding. Depression and anxiety may lead to maladaptive behaviour  patterns that make it difficult to function in everyday situations. In this case, it could be holding onto items and creating clutter that disrupts everyday life.” (WHAT CAUSES HOARDING IN YOUR PARENT AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT,  VARIFIED STAFF, 2019)

‪Environmental problems can trigger depression in someone with a genetic predisposition for the disorder. But even those who don't have genetic risk factors for depression can develop symptoms due to environmental factors. “People who engage in unhealthy lifestyle practices also have a more difficult time overcoming depressive episodes than healthier people, as their unhealthy lifestyle practices tend to work against many treatment effects.” (Lifestyle Factors and Environmental Causes of Major Depression, 2023, MentalHelp) So I think it’s safe to say based on all this Wukong's self isolating habits plus his unhealthy lifestyle have contributed to him gaining nostalgic depression.   ‬

‪So yeah that’s my theory, what do you think.‬

[cherry-valentine]

Winter 2024 Anime Season

I didn’t do write ups for the Fall 2023 season because I was only watching two shows and they were just new seasons of shows I’ve written about multiple times before (Dr. Stone and Spy x Family) so I didn’t feel the need. Both were great. I’ll just leave it at that.

Mr. Villain’s Day Off is one of my favorites this season. Following a stereotypical Tokusatsu villain on his not so typical days off from villain work, the show is a tender hearted comedy without a single mean bone in its body. The humor here is more subtle and situational than the usual fast paced slapstick we often see in anime. As a result, the story actually has a heart. The main character, usually just called Shogun (reflecting his status in the villainous organization), spends his days at “work” fighting a team of Power Ranger-like heroes (each of whom actually get some decent characterization and cute moments, especially the perpetually lost Red) and plotting the destruction of humanity so that his race of aliens can take over the planet. But he spends his days off visiting the zoo to see the animals he’s come to adore: pandas. The charm of this extremely charming show is primarily in the contrast between the violent villain who wants to wipe out humanity and the quiet, good natured man who loves pandas and is genuinely enjoying learning about earth and human customs. The art is very nice, nothing too fancy but it serves the story well. The music is soothing. Overall it’s a very sweet and comforting series that wisely avoids going over the top with the comedy and never really drains its primary joke (villain who loves pandas) too much. Recommended (though you’ll definitely get more enjoyment out of this show if you’re at least vaguely familiar with Tokusatsu tropes).

A Sign of Affection is an incredibly sweet and gentle shoujo romance about a young deaf woman named Yuki and the relationship she forms with Itsuomi, a handsome guy from her college who knows several languages and decides to learn sign language after meeting her. There’s been a bit of a trend lately that I’m totally here for: shoujo romances that are wholesome and healthy. Though I definitely enjoy the drama of more spicy shows, it’s also very nice to relax and watch something that’s not going to piss me off. A Sign of Affection is very careful with its romance. Characters behave in more natural, mature ways. There are fewer misunderstandings and the ones we get are completely understandable. It’s just nice to see healthy, equal, consensual relationships. Because those are the ones I want to root for. Yuki’s disability is handled with delicacy and tact. We see her limitations and struggles but we also see her living a full and happy life. The art style is very typical for high quality shoujo. Lots of pastels and gentle, natural designs. The animation is fluid enough for a show like this, and the music fits it well. Recommended if you like romance.

Cherry Magic is a BL (Boys Love) series that continues the fairly recent trend of non toxic BL anime (that started with shows like Given and Sasaki and Miyano). Cherry Magic centers on Adachi, a shy man who discovers he has magical powers after hitting age 30 while still being a virgin. The power? To read the mind of anyone he touches. Out of curiosity he touches his handsome, popular coworker Kurosawa and finds out Kurosawa is in love with him. Once upon a time, nearly every BL anime that came out was full of toxic relationships and, I’ll call it a “strained relationship with consent”. There’s been a lot of discussion over the years about why that was and how people felt about it, but I for one (a straight cis woman, so take my opinion with a grain of salt) always found those aspects to be uncomfortable. Thankfully, like with shoujo romance, modern series have been moving away from abusive relationships with (very) dubious consent. Cherry Magic is refreshing, mainly in that the two leads are 30 and they actually form a very sweet and equal relationship. It’s a very slow burn romance, but it works well here. The art isn’t anything amazing. The character designs are rather generic and the animation quality dips noticeably after the first episode. But the music is nice and the writing is strong enough to carry the show. Recommended.

High Card season two is, so far, a bit of a letdown. Following a group of people using magic playing cards to give them special powers as they try to gather all the cards, the first season was a blast. The characters were fun and the plot, while occasionally getting a little dark, was overall upbeat and energetic. Season two is fine. I’m enjoying it and it’s had a few great episodes, but the pacing just feels off. Some episodes feel disjointed, and just when it seems like the plot is getting tense and urgent, things come to a screeching halt to have backstory or even side story episodes. To be clear, it’s still a very good anime, but so far the second season is failing to live up to the first. The art and animation are still great and the music is too (though the opening and ending themes just don’t compare to the absolute bangers of season one). Definitely still worth watching for the colorful, lively characters alone.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House is a very pretty supernatural shoujo series about an orphaned girl named Himari inheriting a house from a family she never knew, only to find it already occupied by a trio of handsome young men, two of whom are not actually human. It turns out Himari’s new house sits on the border between worlds, and one of the young men, Aoi, is tasked with guarding that border. The plot is fairly episodic, and the show’s main weakness is that it feels very familiar and predictable. The basic setup of “bright cheerful girl with no family moves in with supernatural hot guys” is not new. But it’s a common setup for a reason: it’s charming and fun. The art and design are very pretty. The music is a high point, with my favorite opening theme of the season. It’s a cute show. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s still a fun ride.

Sengoku Youko is a fantasy action series focusing a pair of traveling “siblings” (not related by blood) consisting of Tama (a fox spirit) and Jinka (a human who hates other humans and wants to become a spirit creature). Traveling with them is a young human man named Shinsuke who wants to be a swordsman. The plot is fairly episodic, with the siblings mostly wandering into dangerous situations involving spirit creatures. There’s an overarching plot about a human religious sect that’s been doing experiments to combine humans with spirit creatures, but that’s usually in the background of the other adventures and serves to provide villains. The characters are overall interesting and fun, and a few of them even avoid falling into the usual fantasy anime tropes, or flip those tropes around enough to be interesting. The fights are exciting, even if the powers and abilities aren’t always made clear. It’s nice that there are plenty of powerful lady characters as well. The art and animation are nice, and the music is great. The ending theme is hauntingly beautiful, and my favorite of the season by far.

[sirnavergi]

talk about lenore THIS INSTANT (please)

LENORE!!!! everyone say thank you red … again…

Lenore Caester is the general branch manager of the Verus Technologies Corp, the company behind the Safe Haven Project🙏 She commonly speaks in the royal we. She appears and disappears at the blink of an eye if you’re not actively looking at her. She’s got the kind of voice and diction you’d find in advertisements. (If u wanna get super specific her current voice claim is the fax machine in dhmis s2 ep1.)

In classic VTCO fashion she denies time (the concept).

In one of my first artworks of Lenore ever (the old ones….) she’s holding a pen with a butterfly charm! In my last reference sheet of Lenore it only has one wing. The full butterfly is usually used to symbolize the actual CEO, while the single wing is for SUGAR (the CEO).

Lenore “adopts” Axl after the finale of genesis part 2. Axl runs into Lenore in the elevator and shes like “Hey You wanna go to school?” n hes like. omg yay. school⁉️⁉️⁉️

Lenore is like an android of sorts! She’s either a dead woman put back together or simply based on a woman previously alive. She either doesn’t remember or simply no longer feels attached to anything regarding her “past life” or “identity”. To stay true to her detachment from her past I likely won’t write her origins/mention it.

She’s shown to possess a lot of admiration for the actual CEO and speaks very highly of her.

Lenore isn’t super fond of most of the characters around her relevance level in the story. Main one being Edgar Reynaud! Obv. She doesn’t like him much. She also has a negative relationship with Azimuth! Azimuth has more of an upper hand there as their source of tension is Az’s unwillingness to cooperate. This leads to her getting dragged to mundane activities and hangouts with Az that she has to sit through in the hopes that he comes around eventually. Neither Lenore or Az are open about it when they dislike someone! So while they r both aware that the other person doesn’t like them either, from a 3rd person view they have a fun dynamic i think ^_^ Lenore is generally passive aggressive in a very artificially warm corporate way, while Az likes to fashion his distaste as something more flattering… so hes VERY nice. Hes very nice about it ^_^

Lenore’s dynamic with Morgaine is also interesting to me! It’s quite common for Morgaine to be the person getting the short end of the stick. I feel like she’s always the character who simply doesn’t know background information characters around her know. I feel like it’s a very cruel way to put it but she does end up being the laughingstock very frequently… n it’s not really her fault that this happens. This kind of continues with Lenore. Lenore is her boss. But also not really, because she never actually signs a contract to work with the company. There’s stuff Morgaine confines in Lenore, simply because she has to talk to SOMEBODY and theres not a lot of options. Ok apologies for the morgaine rant i love morgaine can u tell shes one of my favorite characters lmao . She’s still an outsider in the new world that’s been established. For many reasons. It’s kind of when you learn how a magic trick works and it just ruins the magic for you. She was there when a good chunk of the new world was being built, and she knows enough of it is false to be able to ignore it and live a “normal” life. Her normalcy isn’t whatever this is. Therefore she has to confine in people who are also outside this “normalcy”. Lenore is a good candidate for this very reason. For Morgaine, Lenore is the closest thing she can get to talking with a real person who’s also not going to invalidate every second thing she says. Lenore is semi-aware of this. She’s also aware of how horrified Morgaine was to learn the guy she thought she murdered was actually a robot. N there’s a little humor in it for Lenore. Because she’s also a robot.

On a less lore related note, I initially designed Lenore based on a random oc generator prompt thing i got from a website bc I was bored 🤧

Lenore also briefly shows up in a prequel story titled UO! She accompanies Una Hearthelow (creator of The quantum computer / edgar) to a vcto owned skyscraper.

If you remember The Umbrella ™ cycle, Lenore holds an umbrella over Morgaine at the finale of World’s End.

More character design details wise… She’s blue! Obviously because she’s a textbook #BC (aspect type). But she also has some pinks. Who are the pinks associated with? The CEO!!!!! Yippeee!!!! She also has very organic shapes throughout her design, with her dress somewhat resembling waves or water. These are also stuff associated with the actual CEO. She does have my statement square/rectangle shaped irises I give most of my robot-ai-any sorta techy characters! (It’s mostly a stylistic choice, her eyes likely just look. “normal” to everyone else) Her pupils are the 2 triangle hourglass-like shape that’s the vtco logo! Her eyes are a more purple color, i think mainly bc i just like it that way. But u could read into it with knowledge of what purple is associated with in my character designs/worldbuilding.

I’ll call it a day for now…. Feel free to ask me more specific details like dynamics with other characters yada yada.. either here or on discord 🫡

[looneywanderers]

📽 𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕪 𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕣𝕤 📽

What is Looney Wanderers?

Looney Wanderers is a "series" that both @ghostie-teeth-art (my main blog) and @linklovepage have been working on for a few years now. The story is about the main character, Cuphead, who accidentally makes a deal with the Devil (who disguised himself as a common passerby and wanted to gamble with him) which all happened in Catreena's bar. Now, Cuphead has to bring the Devil back his missing contracts from his runaway debtors. Otherwise, he will take his soul. Over time, Cuphead forms a group to help him (both of new and old friends). These friends are his little but intelligent brother Mugman along with Ernest the Lucky Cat who brings luck to the team without really doing much, Riddi the Picasso toon who brings the team their imaginativeness, Bendy the Demon who can kill almost anything if the team is harmed (especially Riddi), Boris the Wolf who is the sheild of the group, Catreena the Cat toon who is the mom of the group and is also there for the ride, Allison Angel who usually leads the group and is cautious about possible dangers (sometimes to a fault), and last but not least Jesto the Clown toon who kind of tags along whenever he feels like it.

Where can I read it?

Looney Wanderers is in the works on Wattpad and Quotev currently!

there might be slow updates because of burnout or being busy with other things, but it's happening!

Why was Looney Wanderers created?

Looney Wanderers's (originally called "Cupventures") original purpose was to be my personal reimagination of Quest for the Ink Machine (@thebbros) just so I could have fun with it. At this time, both me and Ernest were still in grade school, and still enjoyed Quest. We even made our own characters for the series too (Ernest's being Catreena and mine just being me but quest-ified). I still have a few vague memories of that era, like the two of us having computer time in class while laughing at stuff we'd find that was QFTIM related, and Ernest asking me to draw what Catreena would look like for the first time. As I was getting closer to highschool, I sort of grew out of both my Cuphead and Bendy phase (but I think it was mostly out of shame), but then after a few years into highschool, I looked back at Cupventues and decided that it would be at least a little fun to try and make it more original, whilst renaming it "Looney Wanderers," making the characters look more like their canon selves from the franchises that they come from, and completely changing the lore (other than keeping the fact that the series is about a bunch of popular rubberhose-styled toons and putting them into one series). I dragged Ernest back into it, and we've thought a lot about the character designing, and most of all the lore. I think we're both pretty proud of how it's coming out so far.

Where can I look into the characters and lore?

If you want to look more into the characters and/or lore, I've made a few links so you can read them. There are pages for each individual character, as well as information about what their world is like

{ (link to characters) { (link to lore)

Also note that I still have yet to learn how to use certain things in Tumblr, so if something doesn't work, feel free to shoot me a message and I'll try and fix it to the best of my ability. Also, some things might be added or taken away to characters and lore.

Most of the characters in here do not belong to me. (Bendy, Boris and Allison belong to The Meatly/Kindly Beast, Cuphead, Mugman and "The Devil" belong to Studio MDHR, etc.) We have only changed the designs, and the only characters that belong to us are Riddi the Picasso toon, Asha the Poodle, etc.

If you've some this far into reading a little about Looney Wanderers, I just wanted to say thank you! Personally I sort of feel as if this "series" has a little sentimental value to me, because it brings nice memories that I've otherwise wouldn't have had.

[kinnspocketporsche]

Metaphor Done Right: Childhood's End in KinnPorsche

Full transparency: I have not read this book. But I did major in literature which means I am highly proficient in Making Books Make Sense without reading them. Having said that, if anyone who has read this book calls bullshit on me - that's valid. If you read the book and think this post makes no sense, you're probably right. All I'm saying is I think I could pull off a decent grade in a KinnPorsche Lit Analysis course XD

Like any good metaphor, this one has multiple meanings: a tangible, in-universe meaning, and a broader, meta-meaning - so bear with me; as per usual, I have a lot to say.

The Title

I don't think the title is the only reason this book was chosen, but before we get to that - even if it was the only reason this book was chosen, it has more depth to it than the message it intends to send to the viewers.

Who is reading this book, in-universe? Who chose to read this book in-universe? Vegas.

Right, obviously I didn't need to tell you that, but y'all - we do choose books by their covers, I don't care what anyone says, and we choose them by their titles. I had multiple lectures on cover design and analysis during uni because of this and it was actually fascinating.

I also want to consider what Vegas is trying to get from reading. We might read for pleasure, to learn a new skill, or to learn something about ourselves and the world we live in. I look at Vegas's face here and I think about him asking his abusive father "What am I supposed to do?" and I think he's looking for answers.

The title of the book might be meaningful for us, the viewers, but it had meaning for Vegas and that's a lot more important. Do y'all think Vegas, who has grown up alongside death and amidst abuse his whole life, is morning the loss of his childhood now, in, what, his 20s? I don't. Do y'all think Vegas, who's tortured and killed repeatedly, is a child? Yeah, me neither.

So why this book? Daddy issues again, yep! Gun treats Vegas like a child! He even groups him in with Macau, who is very clearly more childlike in age and demeanor. And here's Vegas thinking he's getting this treatment because he's a failure, looking across the bridge at Kinn who's in the process of taking over for his father. Vegas does one thing of his own volition and his dad says he's ruined everything. He can't come close to being himself. It's insulting and painful for him. We might see the title Childhood's End and think "loss of innocence" but Vegas sees it and probably thinks "freedom." Most 20-something-year-olds with an overbearing parent would, and especially one with and overbearing and abusive parent. I don't think it will give him the answers he was expecting, but I think the book's answer does further the one that Pete ultimately provides.

The Book as a Book

Just real quick - the fact that of all KP characters, we're seeing Vegas read and be associated with books has meaning on its own. This goes back to him needing to look for answers beyond the ones he's been handed by the people in his life - but books can indicate intellect, knowledge, learning. Also, very relevantly, words and their meanings. Vegas reading a book, Vegas reading into Pete's words... They're connected. I also find it interesting that this would indicate, that, even though Vegas doesn't believe in honesty, words are important to him. I mean, if Pete used those double meanings with Porsche - even Kinn, probably - it'd be a lost cause, I think.

The Plot

My quick summary of the book, based off of its Wikipedia page: Aliens decide that humans need supervision. At first they're unobtrusive and seem to be a positive force, leading to great creative feats within the human race. Unsurprisingly, things go sideways and children start losing their identity and merge into a group consciousness - one which is powerful, and dangerous. They're isolated, physically, from everyone else. They eventually lead to the end of the Earth and the end of humanity.

My gut instinct was that Vegas would feel like an alien in the context of a sci-fi book. A victim of child abuse and he's also gay? I mean...

But nope, it's worse than that :) The aliens in this book end up on top, anyway. Vegas feels like a broken human. He's nearing his shattering point, the point of no return, the point of - like the children in the book - losing his whole identity to the demands of his father. Let's break down that summary line by line.

Aliens decide that humans need supervision. Just like Gun constantly supervising his adult son. Ah, Gun, the unnecessary supervision in Vegas's life. The sneaky little bastard that convinced Vegas that Gun was a positive force in his life, and that Vegas was the one fucking things up. Which leads us to the next bit:

At first they're unobtrusive and seem to be a positive force, leading to great creative feats within the human race. At first, it didn't seem so bad - it seemed like Gun was trusting Vegas with things, and Vegas felt pretty powerful kidnapping Porsche and having (seemingly) free rein to play his mind games.

Unsurprisingly, things go sideways and children start losing their identity and merge into a group consciousness - one which is powerful, and dangerous. There's a lot here, but Vegas is losing his identity here. He willingly sacrificed his humanity at (probably) a pretty young age, what with all the death and torture, but he'd come to embrace it. But when things go wrong, it's Vegas who's bad, it's his identity that's flawed. The little things that he chose to do of his own volition - even within the rules provided by his father - are to blame for any failures ("Why didn’t you do what I told you? Why did you defy me?").

They're isolated, physically, from everyone else. This one is obvious, right? Isolated from the rest of society, isolated from the main family, isolated from his own family (Macau) at the safe house. Isolated by the experience of growing up in an abusive household (What did he say to Pete? "You've never gone through what I have?" Huh.). Vegas is very much alone.

They eventually lead to the end of the Earth and the end of humanity. This is the direction Vegas is currently headed. Absolute destruction.

And the children in this book end up kind of in-between human and alien. Pretty nicely aligns with Vegas's monstrous human attributes, the way he's scary even within the mafia world, to everyone except his father. I think that's the abuse coming in to play, mentally he's in a very different place than Kinn and his brothers, even though they all grew up in the mafia. It makes Pete, who's had the same parental experience as Vegas and wasn't from the mafia world originally, especially interesting because he blends in so seamlessly.

It's also interesting that the book's plot twists the meaning of the title on its head. "Childhood's End" has multiple meanings: the children are warped to be these alien-humans, so the literal end of the human children and also the end of humanity's supposed utopia. Maybe utopia under alien supervision looks good, and maybe to Vegas (to any kid), having a father to guide him looks good, but both are leading to a stripping of identity that will end very badly.

Thematic Metaphors

Drive to Conquer

The "peaceful alien invasion" very much parallels colonialism and assimilation. I don't know how to read that summary and not get that vibe. Gun isn't trying to take over a country or a culture, but I think there's something there. The drive to conquer is a huge part of their family. In the book, the alien-human children ultimately consume the Earth, and I wonder if they inherited that from the aliens. I don't know if that's a real thing or just something that I'm incorrectly assuming/hoping for. There's something satisfying about that parallel with Gun and Vegas regardless, but if it's an inherited thing in the book it would really be a perfect fit.

Deception

Sparknotes actually gave me this one. You can probably see it already - the aliens deceived the humans into believing they were helping humanity grow; Gun deceived Vegas into believing he was a dad helping his son grow. Deception is a core part of who Vegas is. There's more of it in the book, but you get the point. Super on par with Vegas and his world. Made more interesting with Pete, who wields his honesty as power and intellect when talking to Vegas, but is also very much capable of deception, as we've seen with his duality.

Does the book give Vegas an answer?

Well... he didn't finish it, I assume, but also, I think the cover being knocked off was telling - I took it to mean that Vegas won't find his answer in books, or at least not in this one.

Also, the book ends with the destruction of humanity. He'd know this already, assuming he read the blurb on the inside cover or the back of the book.

But maybe we can say it would give Vegas a partial answer. It would tell him what not to do. The end of humanity in the book seems to be framed as an inconsequential, but net good thing... for the aliens. For Gun, that would be. For Vegas, following his father will only lead to destruction in the worst way possible - loss of identity, and then loss of, well, everything he currently cares about as an individual. Assuming his father's overwhelming power parallels that of the aliens, maybe fighting his father directly also isn't an option. So he needs to find a third option, which - as previously discussed - is provided by Pete.

——————————————————————

Okay that's all I've got for this post. Anyone who made it to the end here gets a little head pat and a big thank you from me <3 If I'm wrong, do please come shout at me about it (gently). My inbox and DMs are as always very much open for more discussion! :)

Related Posts

VegasPete Communication + Double Meanings Post

Follow-up VP Communication Post

Pete's Escape as a Final Test

[barakittens517]

PT. VI: The Revelation

Summary: In which the plot thickens.

Part V: The Reckoning PT VII: The Truth

Words: 2,696

Warnings: minor character death, minor religious themes (ya know, the usual)

Pairing: Morpheus x gender neutral reader

Notes: this took approximately 9000 years to plan/write/agonize over/figure out, but y'all can have a little cliffhanger. as a treat < 3

Tag List: @ponyboys-sunsets , @i-am-not-a-raccoon-anymore

You walk away from the forest along a cobblestone path you hadn’t had time to notice before. It leads towards open fields, dotted with the cottages, cabins, and caves inhabited by dreams and nightmares. The residents seem wary of Morpheus, but they relax a little more at the sight of you next to him. 

You wonder if they were ever expecting him to return. It had to have been a rude awakening- pardon the pun- to have their century-long freedom revoked. You know the Dreaming has its purpose, and its existence demands a ruler. A creator. But you can’t help feeling bad for the mix of bitter and defeated expressions that greet the both of you. 

Once past the main stretch of homes, you wonder where Morpheus is going. The air weighs heavy with unspoken conversation. You’re both reluctant to bring up what happens next. 

You still don’t know what you are. 

Morpheus still doesn’t know what to do with you. He doesn’t want to admit that he has no idea what to do with you. Sure, he could uncreate you, but there would be no going back from that- he would have no rough draft to pull from, no blueprint to guide him.

And you are unique to him. Surprisingly feisty. He had grown used to the Corinthian’s outright defiance- most of the inhabitants of the Dreaming avoided him, and it was amusing to have one of them bold enough to speak freely with him (not that he would ever admit it.) But the Corinthian was fueled by spite and hatred, and as angry as you could get, you are not the same. 

Something about you is agonizingly familiar to the dream lord- comforting and yet uncomfortable.

He stops for a moment and pulls the book out of his coat, thumbing through the pages. He pauses on the page for Gault. You can make out the original design, some sort of shape-shifting nightmare with unmatched potential for the worst of horrors. 

He points towards the newest addition- an iridescent set of wings. “I am still learning,” he says quietly, “Even after all this time.”

You hold your breath, not wanting to ruin the moment with another ill-timed quip. In an uncharacteristic move, he hands you the book. You’re afraid to turn the pages. 

“Ms. Jude always said you learn something new every day,” you offer, admiring the shimmering colors of Gault’s improvement. Morpheus considers the phrase for a moment. 

“I have had infinite days,” he replies. “And yet, I feel as though I know nothing.”

You think back for a moment, to the day Ms. Jude finally tired of your incessant questioning. You had heard her curse your lack of education, and furthermore, your lack of manners. She had thrown up her hands in defeat, and announced,

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” you quote. “That’s what she told me.” You catch the faintest of smiles on his face before he drops an emotional time bomb.

“What happened to her?” he asks. Your heart doesn’t know whether to drop to the floor with your stomach or burst through your chest in panic.

There’s no way he knows, there’s no way he knows-

“I don’t know,” you lie, shrugging it off as though Ms. Jude was a passing thought and not a gut-wrenching memory. 

Morpheus watches you carefully, noticing how the book trembles in your hands. You flip through the pages to hide it. 

“Ellis,” he starts, and-

oh god are you going to throw up right now, I swear-

“Pick a dream.” 

“W-what?” 

He nods towards the book. “Pick a dream that you like.”

You find Fiddler’s Green immediately. “I only ever saw him in person,” you say, “But this looks like heaven. Like, actually.”

The dream lord reaches for the book again and tucks it into his coat, offering you his arm.

“Well, then, we shall pay Fiddler’s Green a visit,” Morpheus decides.

It is a quiet walk to your destination. Morpheus is distracted by his own thoughts, and you by yours. 

At what point would you own up to your history? There is not a doubt in your mind that Morpheus would be rid of you in an instant. Verity’s whispers echo in your head endlessly. 

There are so many memories that you cannot place. Perhaps they had lied to you- it certainly worked to get a reaction. But if it was the truth…  

Your thoughts are interrupted by the dream lord as you reach the grassy hills.

“Fiddler’s Green is one of my best creations,” he announces proudly. Your breath gets caught in your chest at the sight.  For as many heavenly views as there are in the waking world, none could hold a candle to Fiddler’s Green.

“What do you do here?” you ask. Morpheus drops his arm and takes a seat beneath a grove of flowering dogwood trees.

“Whatever you would like, little one.” 

The nickname rolls off of his tongue before he has the thought to stop it. 

A flicker of pride bursts in your chest before you have the thought to quell it.

 Morpheus quickly pulls the book from his coat and opens to Gault’s illustration. “There is no harm in taking a moment to relax. I was hoping to catch up on some new ideas, but you are welcome to explore.” 

You wrack your brain for a moment- you don’t want to bother the dream lord, but you are dangerously curious about the book in his hands. Sitting so close to him is not an option. Not while your heart is already pounding the way that it is. 

You take a moment to look around and notice the thick, curved branches above you. Aha. 

“I’m going to climb,” you announce, and Morpheus’ expression breaks into a grin. Your heart flips in your chest. You feel childish and yet giddy, filled with nostalgia, all at the same time. You had taught the Marwood children how to climb the giant pine tree in the back pasture. 

You’re standing on the first branch when the memory hits. 

“I’m not tall enough!” Eden whines, flapping her little arms in frustration. David is already on the third branch, determined to reach the very top. 

“I’ll help you this time,” you say, “but I know you can do it.” You swing her up onto the first branch, her little boots dangling a couple of feet off the ground. “Do you want to climb higher? You have to look for the closest branches first.” You point to the branch just above her head. 

She shakes her head. “I’m having fun right here,” she answers. You know she has a fear of heights, ever since her brother had pushed her off the top bunk of their bed. 

David is much higher above the both of you. “Be careful!” you warn. 

He is not the listening type, even at nine years old. You know he has lost all respect for adults since learning of his father’s anger. He hates Saul, and rightly so. And he’s becoming accustomed to ignoring all authority, including you. 

You can hear him grumbling, and you frown as a bundle of loose twigs and pine needles rain down from above. Eden is beginning to look nervous again, so you distract her with a game of Concentration. 

“Concentration, sixty-four, no repeats, or hesitation, I’ll go first, you go second, category is…” Eden pauses, “colors… Red.”

“Orange.”

“Yellow.”

“Green.”

“Blue!” she shouts.

“Purple,”

“Pink!” She’s giggling now, having thought of her favorite color.

“Black.” 

She hesitates. “...Gra-”

Her decision is cut short by the thundering crack of solid wood snapping into pieces. Eden’s eyes are wide as saucers as her brother hits the ground below. There is no yelling, no crying, no screaming. 

David is out cold. Lucky to be alive, and yet cursed with what the doctors would later name encephalitis lethargica. He never had the chance to wake up. Eleven months later, Saul demanded the doctors do something, anything, to end David’s pain. 

It was a lie. David did not feel any pain. But the family did, and Saul could not stand to watch his wife mourn a child who, by all accounts, should have suffered only a concussion and a handful of cracked ribs. 

But what was purgatory for the family became hell for the father. 

They dosed little David with a lethal amount of morphine. Eden never spoke again.

You’re standing on a higher branch now, one arm wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Morpheus is fully engrossed in his notes, and doesn’t notice the breath that gets caught in your lungs. 

Red- orange- yellow, green- blue- purple, pink- black... gray. Red- orange- yellow, green- blue- purple, pink-black… gray. 

The practice of naming colors had become a mantra after you left the Marwoods. You shake your head to clear the thought of Eden’s expression- eyes wide, looking pale as a ghost. You had forgotten the original memory, of that horrific fucking sound. 

From your perch above Morpheus, you can only pick out the larger illustrations- his handwriting is too difficult to see. However, the view of Fiddler’s Green from this vantage point is incredible. The sun is setting over the hills, tinting everything in golden hues. 

Looking around, your eyes catch the path you arrived on. The cobblestone had ended a while ago, and there wasn’t really a path to Fiddler’s Green- you reached it of your own accord. But now there’s a trail of violent-tinted morning glories that stops right before it reaches the dream lord beneath you. 

You swing down from a branch to the side to investigate further. It isn’t until you’re closer that you notice the bell-shaped white flowers that follow your own footsteps to the tree.

They give off a pleasantly sweet scent that would be overpowering if there were any more of them. You reach down to pluck one and stand, twirling the stem in your fingers. You kneel and  carefully place it in the dream lord’s book. His brow is furrowed, trying to decipher his own handwriting from so long ago. 

“I saw the morning glories, but I’ve never seen these before. What is it?” you ask. The dream lord’s face pales, and you notice he’s been looking over the drafts of a companion. “I-I’ve already seen that one,” you blurt, “I mean, don’t worry. It’s not weird. Not that it would be weird, but- shit, I’m sorry.” You’re flustered, and quickly snatch the flower back from its place on the page.

“My bad,” you mutter, stepping back and flopping down amidst the flower trail. The little flower is wilting in your hand, so you set it back with the morning glories. You can feel Morpheus watching your every move.

It’s unnerving. You keep your eyes low, and pretend to be more interested with the white flowers currently blooming around you. As beautiful as the place is, you wish Fiddler’s Green could appear in human form, to ward off whatever uncomfortable silence was enveloping the place.

Morpheus takes a breath, tucking his book away. Your existence had continually frustrated him- never before had he lacked an answer so completely. And yet, some part of him fostered an inkling of hope. An impossibility, but then-

Morpheus steps closer and kneels besides you, plucking one of the purple flowers from the ground. “Each time I visit, he leaves a trail of morning glories where I’ve been.” 

“What do they mean?” you ask.

Morpheus chuckles. “Well, they bloom each morning, and die each evening. That’s why they’re morning glories. Fitting for a dream lord.” 

He reaches for one of the little white flowers. You have started braiding them together, creating a little crown of purple and white blooms. It is giving you something to do besides fidget nervously, but your hands are still shaking.

You try to focus on tying knots, but the stems keep snapping just short. Morpheus is twirling one of the little white flowers in his hand. 

“Ellis,” he says finally, considering the epithet you introduced yourself with. “Where did you get that name?” 

Frustrated, you toss the string of flowers into the morning glories. “I don’t know. It’s the only thing I remember, really. I needed a name anyways, in the real world. Can’t get very far without one.”

Morpheus nods. “Do you know what these are?” He holds up the tiny white bloom. You shake your head. “They’re lilies of the valley.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you ask. 

“There is a very old story about the Christian Jesus. It is said when he died, his mother Mary cried tears that turned to lilies of the valley. They’re meant to represent purity and humility. They’re also very pretty.” 

You know he’s waiting for you to say something, some sarcastic remark about what Fiddler’s Green is trying to imply here. But you’re frozen in place. There is no way Fiddler knows what you’ve done. So why would he do something like this?

“You don’t like them?” the dream lord asks gently. He knows something is amiss- you haven’t moved or said a word in minutes. The flower crown is trembling in your hands. 

“They’re fine,” you whisper, tears clouding your vision again. 

Morpheus is perplexed. He thought this new revelation would lead to the same conclusion he had already arrived at. “Ellis,” he says, placing a hand on your shoulder, “What’s wrong?” 

You want to rip up every single flower Fiddler’s Green has placed near you. This is some sick fucking joke, and you’re not laughing. 

“You’re right, they are pretty,” you avoid answering, but also fail to keep the bitterness out of your voice. 

Morpheus sighs, dropping his arms to his sides. He’s getting frustrated again. As much as he cares, this was not the reaction he had hoped for. “Do you know what Fiddler’s Green means by this?” he asks. 

You shake your head. He wants to tell you, to shake you into noticing exactly what he has. But you’re so close to tears, and he has never been very good with strong emotions.

So he sits with you. And waits. 

After a few minutes, you’re able to breathe calmly. The tears have stopped, although your eyes are now rimmed in red. You toss the half-finished flower crown to the morning glories and sigh, louder than you meant to. Morpheus tries to pick his moment carefully. 

“Ellis,” he says softly, hesitantly, “You have yet to meet my eye. Why?”

You shrug, picking at the grass absent-mindedly. “I can see you just fine, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

He shakes his head. “Does the thought of me terrify you that much?” 

You laugh, but the sound betrays how nervous you are. “No, it doesn’t. You don’t scare me,” you reply. “Are you supposed to?”  

“Well, if the Corinthian didn’t scare you, I’m not sure what will,” he jokes. The sound of your laugh puts some of his anxiety at ease.

Now’s the moment.

“Ellis,” he starts, and then stops. 

You turn slightly, enough to see him- how uncharacteristically uncomfortable he looks in his own realm. 

“... Yeah?” 

The dream lord takes a breath and tries again. “Do you know what Fiddler’s Green would’ve meant by this?” He motions to the little white flowers in front of him. 

You bite your lip to keep from snapping at that stupid dream and his stupid flowers. You shake your head no. 

“They’re lilies,” Morpheus says, waiting for the realization to hit you. It doesn’t. “Here,” he tries again, pulling his book out of his coat. He flips to a familiar page- the companion. 

“I’ve seen it before,” you say, pushing the book away. “I don’t blame you for trying to make a companion. I can’t imagine being alone as long as you have.” The words come out harsher than you’d like. 

“I haven’t always been alone,” Morpheus responds, “But that’s not the point.” He places the book in front of you, pointing to the flowers in the column. 

Your stomach drops. 

They’re lilies. 

They’re not quite the same as the ones that grow around you, but you can see Morpheus’ handwriting off to the side. 

fleur de lis - elis - ellis ? 

[ben-talks-art]

Why I like Zatch and Kyo

"How much do you think I've changed... How much do you think he's helped me? That's why it's my turn!"

Zatch Bell is one of the first mangas I've ever read. I used to love the anime even though the premise and the character designs were so strange and weird.

The idea is that there are a bunch of humans who need to fight with other humans in a pokemon, digimon, or Medabots-like style where they have a partner by their side that does all the battling while the human gives emotional support. Except here, the "pokemon" are replaced with little kids...

This is a very odd concept since the reason these types of stories usually have a human partner up with some sort of monster or robot is so that you don't feel that bad while watching them beating the hell out of each other... So having kids (very, very little kids no less) doing the fighting makes you go "Isn't that, like... Really violent?"

Little did I know as I kept watching the show that this was exactly the point of the story.

Something I really respect about Zatch Bell is that, unlike many series where characters just feel like pain sponges, wounds in here actually matter... Both physical and emotional.

Basically, every major conflict in the manga starts with the two leads, Zatch and Kyo, taking on the burden of someone's pain and trying their best to help them out.

The manga itself starts with these two taking on each other's pain. Kyo was a kid who was growing distant from his friends so Zatch tried to devise plans to help others see his good points so Kyo can make friends. Meanwhile, Zatch is struggling with memory loss so Kyo is working his big brain to solve the mystery of who Zatch is and where he came from, and as they keep trying to help each other they both start to bond and realize they need one another more than they realize.

As Kyo spends more time with Zatch he learns how to trust his emotions more, and as Zatch spends more time with Kyo he starts to mature and use his head more.

The more they try to help someone, the better people they each turn into, and they each act as a guide to the other on how to best help others.

Zatch Bell is a series where you really get the sense that friendship truly matters.

Any time a new character is introduced we quickly are told what their struggles in life were and what kind of emotional damage they are dealing with.

Something I tend to obsess with whenever I think about a series is how it deals with the victim's pain. There are times when someone's pain is just a tool to further the plot, or just an excuse to get the main character angry and motivated, or just to show how evil the bad guy of the arc is, and when that's dealt with, the victim is just forgotten and ignored.

But here, everyone's pain always feels like they matter. There is hardly an arc where Zatch and Kyo don't end up crying out after hearing someone's backstory and feeling frustrated for being unable to help. You feel like they are bonding with these people, you feel like they are understanding how much they are suffering, and you feel their desire to help them out.

In fact, the thing that triggers the big goal that motivates the two characters throughout the rest of the series is seeing a girl forced to fight into the tournament as well and seeing how much that was torturing her.

Again, these are all kids around the age of 6 to 12, and they are all battling with each other using these big demonic spells that tend to leave them bathed in their own blood by the time the fight stops, and one of the big plot points is that when they lose a fight they basically have to leave the show until the end.

When characters are suffering you feel that pain as well.

I like Zatch and Kyo because they're characters that best showcase the power of sympathy. Any time you see them fighting, or getting injured, or doing their best to come up with a plan to take down an enemy you always sense that they have someone's pain or possible pain motivating them.

My all-time favorite moment is when one of the villains is threatening to use a weapon called "Faudo" to destroy the island of Japan, and when they face against said villain and he starts his "bad guy" monologue all the heroes are thinking about is keeping all these innocents live safe.

It's so simple but so effective how this shows these two always put the pain of others before their own.

This is one of those series that makes you realize the importance of establishing connections between characters. It's not just about having one invincible main lead that deals with everything on his own, it's about showing why it's important to stand up and fight by showing the people they care about and why they care about them.

All those cliche lines like "friendship is power", "my friends are my power", "I fight for my friends", "there is something I must protect", and all that stuff, they all feel earned here.

I love Zatch and Kyo because they're the kind of heroes that really show the importance and power of caring about others!

Favorite character list>>

[arainmorn-art]

A test task I've done right when I got sick, four days ago, so it feels a bit like a fever dream, how I was maniacally drawing, modelling and texturing 3 days in a row. And the final piece has this feverish vibe, I think x) So, the theme was a retrofuturistic dieselpunk+atompunk bomb shelter's atrium leading to living rooms. I didn't know there is a whole genre called atompunk, but apparently good old Fallout series is a part of it. And also it was told that the main focus would be the wall, ceiling, floor and railings design. You have 3 days to make it using any medium. I've decided to use my 2D-concept art skills + modest 3D Blender somewhat skills + aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand my new passion, making procedural textures in Substance Designer, which I've started to learn and use about a 1,5 month now. I thought, let's mix useful and pleasurable, shall we? The best way to learn something is learning it on the field. Come on, I've learned Photoshop while drawing my first picture book in uni, it works.

First thing first is to find the whole vibe. I'm by far not an architecture expert, most of my life I've been drawing characters, but the thing I've learned about it that there should be a pleasing repeated pattern of shapes to look at. As it doesn't suppose to look natural\organic, there should be a decent amount of straight lines, so it will look manmade. And it's freakin' hard to find this fine line between atompunk and regular sci-fi and I don't think I've managed it. But that's the thing with test tasks, what matters is: • the amount and diversity of variations you provide • your desicion making to show what you as a professional think works best • your ability to turn any variation into a project • your determination to finish it Even if your choice might not fit the project one employer has in their mind, other potential employers will see your work too and might find it fitting for their projects.

My idea was to create a wall of doors that will also be a tileable wall texture that I'd do in Substance Designer. I was so thrilled about it as I was so inspired by so many tutorials on Youtube and Artstation how it would be fun to do my first sci-fi panel...

...and oh my friggin' gosh it took me 6h in one sit to make it. I was so focused I think I've rarely breathed, my shoulder was aching and burning form tension, it was about 01:00 am and I was slightly panicking if I could finish everything else. It was the end of a day 2, I've spent 1.5 day on concept arts and this door. But still I was determined, as having a clear idea what to do (concept-art) and a tile that will cover 1\3 of the final piece (doors) is already a lot. Everything else can be improvised on the go. I've tested my door texture in Blender, was relieved it works and went to sleep. And I was also getting slightly cold and coughing a little, but I haven't thought about it.

When I have a goal, I even wake earlier than usual. It's a day 3, I must put everything in it. So after a really challenging for a texture novice like me door creating a floor tiles was like walk in the park. It was fun, not painful and done before the noon, so I was confident in myself. And I've began my blocking in Blender. It is not by any mean a sophisticated 3d-modelling as a true 3d-artist would do. If any professional 3d-artist looks inside my Blender kitchen, their hair would turn grey. I do the same when I model my scenes for Deciphering comic: if it looks right, than it works for me. In game development production it's also the case that concept artist's models are only a reference for 3d-artists, so if you are a concept artist you can just don't bother about how technically disasterous and wrong in terms of wireframe and polygons your models could be.

Slightly unreasonable tangent: Blender, why are you such a bitch when it comes to spiral stairs?! WHY? Why, you caprisous shmack, what the matter with you, why can't you do a decent spiral stairs in the first try?! Why every time I'm doing the spiral stairs I have to pull my hair from the head, dance with drums and shout curses at you, and you still do it through you digital asshole?! So... yeah. My initial idea with a solid staircase went to the trashbin as I couldn't handle mine and Blender's temper and there've been not so much time left, it was around 8 pm. So I was thinking on my foot how I could turn it into something that looks like a designer desicion and not rushed last minute one, but yeah, I've failed it. I've also find out that I got sick and had a high body temperature. Yay!

By the way, stained glass looking texture on walls was an accident. When I was testing my door texture, I've made a mistake an applied it on the whole bloking area. It stretched across everything in an ugly way, but... this screen pattern looked good. Surprisingly good. It would be a crazy idea to have a glass walls in the suposed bomb shelter, but... damn it looked interesting. So I've created a new texture just for this part. Yeah, design over functionality, that's how it gets born, that's how it goes. Just some happy accidents.

Then I've figured it would be a right time to do a fast concepts for railings... but my tablet decided to not respond. I've tried to install new drivers, checked eveything, lost an hour on it and decided: f*ck it, I'll finish it with my mouse if I must. Luckily I still had my Samsung Galaxy tablet so I quickly doodle some designes for railings. But composing the final concept art was still going to be done by mouse.

This is when I've accepted that this is more a steampunk-ish train station with a bit of 60s than a bomb shelter and let it go. We have high ceilings? Let's have polls to the roof. No, let's also have a balcony under the roof. Let's have an elevator with glass and metal ornaments. Let it be more retro than futuristic! Can you hear I had a high temperature and feverish determination? I've made several Eevee shots as they were fast to render and compose.

And a Cycles engine one for a better presentation. As my tablet died, there wasn't much I could paint over it, but I've tried to hide a couple of rendering mistakes. Mostly it was just about composing rendering maps, masks and filters in Photoshop - and I also was close to my limits as it was 02:30 am when I've finished it.

It looks a bit as this whole location is underwater, but it's fine. Brings some mystery to it. Next morning I've send and still haven't received any answer. But it's alright, if they don't find it fitting, and decline. It's actually happened to me several times, when my test tasks for one company is liked by other one. That's not the main case I'm talking about. Every now and then an artist should do some kind of challenge, as only challenging yourself you learn something new. It's a never-ending journey and that's the beauty of art, it's not just a job, it's a way of life. And gee I've learned several things during this one! It may look like a screenshots from 2000s oldschool videogame, but hella I love old school videogames. It may not lead me to a new job in a short run, but in the long one it feels like a one of a millions steps in my art journey and I'm strangely inspired to create more of this obscure kind of environments.

And thanks for reading!

[futureforged]

*send me 🕯️to hear my character's inner thoughts about your character. 📨 ➤   @nightlyvisitor  [ ; ] 🕯️to hear my character's inner thoughts for Raymon ✨👀

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑. Nothing new, he muses, idly continuing to tap his pen's end against the surface of his desk. He's done for the day, everything cleared out, sorted, properly where it was meant to be. But maybe he's grown all too comfortable here. Come to find a sort of odd comfort in staying within the lab's carefully guarded, meticulously kept walls. The lights have been dimmed, just enough to ease his eye strain from being inside all day. Every other noise grows dull, distant as he continues to wade deeper into his tired thoughts.

Trailing after the thinning path led by breadcrumbs of passing observations, they lead in differing directions. But a few gradually begin to spiderweb in interconnecting veins of a familiar topic. One he's admittedly not proud of lingering too long on, but … too late to bother backing out now.

His pen tapping begins to slow, gaze breaking from where it'd been staring off aimlessly to instead flicker up & over to the one safely tucked away pile at the edge of his desk, locking on the messy yet neat curves of the other's distant writing scrawled along the top page. A personal report of his most recent mission. As usual, it took a bit of mental prep before he could bring himself to read through it. It truly did make him wonder just how the sunny man was able to stay so hopeful. The things he's seen … admittedly, he was nosy, peeking through a few of the sharpshooter's files within the BSAA database to figure out if he was worth trusting or not months before … he was a Raccoon City Survivor.

He'd been one of the first few to be exposed to the horrors of bio-experimentation.

Jayce read the reports that were publicly available, knows that what the other had been through would've been enough to leave other people without that same spark of determination alive. But here he was, still stubbornly shoving through, refusing to back down from a mission no matter the predicted danger. He was … a genuine man. Kind right down to his very core. Something that both amazes & triggers something in the tired scientist's chest. An odd mixture of guilt, admiration, something distinctly protective & mournful. It's all balled up in a confusing mess of feelings, growing bigger the longer he knows the other man. The more he learns of what it is they're really up against.

He can only do so much from his end to help, from logging away & securely documenting everything they came across in its full entirety. Just in case the BSAA turned out to be no better than the other companies they hunt, it's risky, but the fact the other understands this fear, shares it, does what he can to help.

It reignites a tiny spark of something hopeful. Optimistic. Reassured that not all of humanity was doomed to be greedy, selfish, evil or rotten. He continues to tap his pen again, noting how the silence seemingly doubled in tension. The repetitive noise does very little to quell down his thoughtful hum, only prompting him to scoff out a sigh as he rubs at his eyes.

Moving to stand, he reaches for his jacket from where it remains carefully draped over the back of his chair, slipping it over his shoulders before making his way over to the designated rest section. He shuts his thoughts down, trying not to let things anchor down deeper through the impending rabbit hole of trouble he knows is coming from the most recent update he'd been given from the sunny operative. Things would likely only get worse from here. Something everyone seemingly knew at this point.

The only thing he could try to do, was maybe steal some of Blackstone's seemingly endless optimism, try to emulate it as best he could if he wanted to stay together mentally with what the future held.

… easier said than done, he sighs, flopping over.

[linnorabeifong]

Happy Birthday To Me... I Guess

Summary: It’s Asami’s twenty-first birthday, but she doesn’t feel like celebrating. That is until an unlikely friend turns her day around with a strange gift that leads Asami to discover her own past and unearth old secrets.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49461007/chapters/124826812#main

Note: This series is a work in progress that started three months ago. I'm already nine chapters deep. Currently writing chapter ten. This work was the second thing I posted to Ao3 so it's very rough, but the plot is fun if you're looking for a light read and like Asami-centric fics. It's focused on her learning about her mother and finding out...inconvenient information along the way. There is some background KyaLin if you're into that. It's slow burn korrasami, and not cannon compliant. The air kiddos and the entire krew are present as background characters as is Opal.

Chapter 1

Today was the big day, September 21st but to Asami it felt like any other. Lonely, busy, cold. She woke up early to an empty house. Brushed her teeth, styled her hair, washed her face, dabbed on perfume and carefully applied her signature red lipstick. She padded downstairs to make herself her usual tea, catching sight of the kitchen telephone through the corner of her eye. Her hands itched with the desire to call up a particular someone. To hear that voice again, to catch up, to just have someone she could talk to honestly. It was futile. Asami turned away, she knew the person on the other end would not pick up. She had tried before. She breathed in sharply, her tea that was hot just a moment ago was now ice to the touch. A tear fell into the cup and then another. She pretended not to notice and returned upstairs to reapply her makeup.

The rest of her day was spent sitting through tedious meetings, listening to investors drone on for what felt like forever. Reviewing budgets, supervising the Sato factories and sketching up plans for new buildings. She fidgeted with the pen in her hands and flipped through her sketchbook, realizing none of her ideas looked quite right. The scale was off, the layout wasn’t practical, where could she find the funding ? It was times like these when she missed her parents. Maybe her mother would have something encouraging to say or perhaps her father, the genius, would have a miraculous idea. To tell the truth she didn’t actually know what they would do. She hadn’t spoken to her father in years and she never really got the chance to know her mother. She glanced over her sketches again, sighed, gave up and returned home early.

To her surprise she found a large package on her doorstep. She brought it inside, sat it on her desk, and inspected it. The pink box had a large blue bow on it, and a piece of paper reading “To ‘Sami” in neat flowing script was tucked away neatly underneath the bow. Despite its size the package was light, and oddly enough smelled strangely familiar. The perfume scent was like an itch she couldn’t scratch. She knew she recognized it from somewhere but couldn’t recall exactly where. It was decidedly feminine, velvety, rich but not too heavy. Her curiosity got the better of her. She quickly reached out and unraveled the silk ribbons, eagerly lifting the lid off the box to uncover white tissue paper. She peeled back the delicate paper revealing a stunning floor length dress underneath. It was a snow white, silky affair. The fabric was fine and slightly sheer. She lifted it up in her arms and noticed the tiny jasmine flowers embroidered all over it in silver thread catching the light. The design snaked up the cuffs of the sleeves and the hem of the skirt. Forming an almost star like pattern. It was brilliant. The waist was cinched and emphasized by a silver ribbon. The skirt was voluminous. She sat the dress down and looked into the box to discover the accompanying slip. It was a soft pink and made of a more opaque silk, sleeveless and by the looks of it very form fitting. Cherry blossoms were concentrated along the bust in gold thread, and their petals descended down to the waist.

Asami could see the vision of the dress with the slip underneath in her mind. It was beautiful, the skirt just barely kissing the floor, the clever silhouette flattering her figure, “but why would anyone send me such an elaborate gift ?” she wondered. Then she realized it was her birthday. She forgot her own birthday. She looked at the tag of the dress, hoping it would give her a clue as to its origins. She was not prepared in the slightest for what she saw next. “Yasuko Tanaka” the tag read. Her heart skipped a beat at the familiar name. It couldn’t really be her mother’s, could it ? No, the last name was wrong. Unless…She didn’t know her mother’s maiden name. Could it really be ?

[kustas]

Please feel free to ignore this if you don’t want to go into it hahaha, but as an FMA agnostic I saw that comment and had to ask: what’s your take on the series?? Have a great day!

I read it twice, once when I was in middle school, and then rather recently! My take is that while I understand why it is popular it's an overrated series that suffers from serious issues.

As a kid? I loved it. I've always been into science and fantasy worldbuilding and old timey stories with fights, so it was my shit. I had just discovered manga and was obsessed and even tried to copy the art style. I was especially fond of the parts about the ishbalan civilization as well as the chimeras, probably early signs of my still ongoing interests in ancient west asian archeology and uncanny valley furries. It's a story that importantly, while having a target audience of teenagers and catering to that, doesn't take its audience for idiots and offers, compared to other stories, more emotional punch due to that, with topics of life and death, and a story with a lot of traumatized characters.

Rewatching it as an adult, I'm just...not into magic anime battles anymore. I also am not keen on the art style nowadays, I get the charm but the chibi stuff is unbearable to me and a lot of characters are too samey for my liking, especially women. My one good surprise was learning about the gender neutrality of Envy as a character, a design I always liked as a child - but when I originally read the series I had known nothing of it because the character had been translated to male.

The huge elephant in the room however, is how it deals with its sensitive topics. A lot of what I will say are criticism you could forward to many popular series, yes, I know, but FMA is constantly hailed in "progressive" fandom spheres for diversity which upon reread shocked me. Politically, FMA talks about topics with serious IRL ties and does not have a stance I like on them. Most of the plot revolves around a cast of military who went to war before the story and exterminated a people there, who are fantasy-styled west asian and make up the majority of brown characters you see in the series. While the manga isn't afraid to say genocide bad or show the consequences it also makes you sympathize for the soldiers who carried it out because...they feel bad? Which is just not something I can agree with. In the modern times of the series it leads to uncomfortable discussions of fantasyworld racism that aren't my place to talk about. When the plot ends, it's a good ending for those soldiers, the only change is that you learn some anime evil was behind it all, and the "bad evil man for killing the actors in genocide of his people" gets redeemed quick but not in a way I agree with either. There's also the theme of disability which the series does touch on in a way that I cannot say much negative about, but on the other hand (no pun intended) do not feel is worth hailing as much as I have seen by fans. Last thing I see people hail it for is female characters and while yes, the series is not plagued by the usual misogynistic (if not pedophile) type of fan service anime usually has, that bar is underground... The main characters remain all male with the exception of one girl who's not really there and ends up a love interest. There's some cool female side characters but they remain just that. It's scraps & I am happy to find better elsewhere.

TLDR: Tumblr regularly rightfully tears a new one to avatar the last Airbender for how it handled colonialism, genocide and portraying fantasy cultures heavily based on real world ones, so why has FMA constantly slipped through that net, with a fanbase who is incapable of handling criticism?

TLDR 2: Honenheim's character and backstory remain to this day my favorite thing about FMA can we take this guy to a better manga

[avathestarwarrior]

Hey there Ava, I wanted to say something in regards to those posts you recently made about your characters and art as a whole. Apologies in advance for the essay ahead, I had a lot to say and I really feel passionate about this because, hey, I've been there and I don't want to see you discouraged over this. First I want you to know that you aren't alone- when I was your age and still learning the ropes of art I felt exactly the same. All my friends around me what felt like suddenly jumped in their skills and only perfected their characters (design and story/personality-wise) while I sat stagnated in both. My characters were one-dimensional and I had little to no understanding of the major principles of art. And without a doubt, it is discouraging because they're being noticed for it and I hadn't made any ground in improvement at the time. This is a horribly common feeling especially for those without any access to formal training/teaching and beginners alike. Most of my friends lived in places where they could easily gain professional guidance and tools (usually through college, many countries allow you to jump to college while still in mid-teen years onwards), while I remember having to teach myself everything and struggling to learn even the most basic digital programs. Neither my high school or college (that I went to art classes specifically for, even the introductory ones) ever went in-depth when teaching the basics, and so generally I never had that strong foundation all my friends built onto. It's painful, but it's going to be okay because there are ways to help this. Now real quick, I'm going to go ahead and address what you were saying about your characters and art. Being completely honest, you were one of the first people I followed when joining this site, and I've really enjoyed seeing your work. While you may think that others would ignore your work over currently higher-skilled artists, I need you to know that there is a certain joy in watching someone find their way in a skill and grow within it. Drawing and designing characters (and yes, even writing them regarding their backstories/personalities) is a skill. For some, naturally they jump off and fly right away, with little to no friction. But for others? There may need to be a little more guidance and work. Some people also learn more slowly than others, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. You do not "suck" at these things. You just may need more supplementary sources to help guide your growth is all. That leads me into my next point;

When I said that you aren't alone in this, I don't just mean "I've been there". I also mean, there's an insane amount of free sources that are online you can use to push yourself forward. Pinterest has a lot of good references ranging from 'how to draw this' to 'something I can use for inspiration' and you can easily amass a huge collection for just about any of your drawing needs. Also YouTube! I stagnated in my art and designs for years, but when I started actively seeking out tutorials my skills slowly-- very slowly-- grew and I was able to not only learn new things but also build off of them from there on. Some of my favorite tutorial/art/design tips channels are: -Marc Brunet (short and sweet, easily digestible tutorials on drawing from a professional game artist turned art teacher. Just about anything drawing related is on his channel). -Brookes Eggleston - Character Design Forge (a channel specifically for improving character design (and a few tips on personality qualities as well) and some of the principles you can use to apply when designing). Both of these channels also have tips for the whole mental aspect of these things, which is very encouraging and helps when trying to get out of a mindset that may be hindering you and your progress, including artblock and feelings of inadequacy. I apologize again for the long ask, but I really hope this helps you in some way! Know that you're not in this journey alone and that with some time and a little bit of guidance, you will improve-- which I want to also say that it's much easier for others to see than for you to. At the end of the day, try to be a little more compassionate towards yourself, because it can only get better and I know you're doing your best. The fact that you're posting your art and characters online like this is already inspiring enough to many who are afraid to even start, and I genuinely mean that from experience. As scary as it is, maybe ask some of your friends or artists in general that you look up to for tips, most people are happy to provide insight on their work when asked politely- and definitely seek out some resources for yourself as well, those that I mentioned are without a doubt a good start. I wish you all the best of luck, and please take care! <3

Thank you there friend for this long ask. After reading this, I think I forgot something important! I already know these things and I have't tried it out recently! Thank you so much for reminding me and everyone who might come across this that we are indeed not alone. I am truly touched and I'll make sure to never underestimate myself again! Sadly I don't know exactly who you are (Although I assume you were like the first one to like the rant post I just made) but thank you again. And I hope that maybe you can like DM me? Anyways, thank you so much!