#so not necessarily reflective of how Bane looked in the dream

[anderstrevelyan]

Can we talk about how Gortash commissioned a literal sculpture of how Bane looked in their first dream visit, and displays it prominently in his office??

*This is a bust of the god Bane as he first appeared to Gortash in dreams, and was then described to a Rivington sculptor.*

[illiumflower]

headcanons about ren amamiya that literally no one asked for but i just finished p5 so i’m here

- post-p5, he is deathly afraid of needles. before it wasn’t too big of an issue, but after the interrogation room he can barely look at a needle without tensing up and lowkey hyperventilating. the only person he trusts to give him his vaccinations / any necessary shots is tae, which makes any emergency hospital visits difficult since she’s just a back alley doctor.

- his family wasn’t necessarily a bad one, but ren’s parents weren’t exactly attentive. they were more like roommates than anything, doing the bare minimum to care for him while he was a wee little kid but doing less so when he got old enough to take care of himself. ren became very self-sufficient at an early age -- it’s partially why he wasn’t really fazed when sojiro told him he was staying by himself above leblanc. he would’ve been more surprised if sojiro kept him in his home and looked after him from the beginning.

- speaking of sojiro, that man is as close to an actual father as ren feels he gets. never before did he feel like he could approach a father figure with any issues he was having, but after the two get close he starts confiding his worries in sojiro and asking for actual advice rather than relying on no one but himself. when sojiro tells ren that he considers him part of the family he actually starts crying and hugs him. if he starts calling the man ‘dad’ along with futaba after that conversation, that’s no one’s business but their own. 

- futaba is the little sister that ren dreamed of. well, he didn’t necessarily dream of a recluse little sister whose palace he had to go through when he was a kid, but if he had to choose someone as a sibling, futaba absolutely would’ve been it. he’s honored that she considers him her ‘key item’ and fondly refers to her as his ‘player 2.’

- ren lasts exactly one week back in his hometown before realizing that he’d grown too used to actually being wanted and loved to go back to how he used to live. it didn’t take much convincing at all to have his parents send him back to the sakura family; this time, he had his own room in sojiro’s home rather than just the attic above leblanc ( though his old bed is still there and he’ll collapse there from time to time ).

- he eventually goes on to be an investigative journalist. the metaverse and his phantom thieving days may be long over, but the need to help others and stick his nose where it doesn’t belong never goes away. he doubles down on his japanese and english classes during school with ann’s help and makes it into a good university, sticking around tokyo post-graduation to be the joker he used to be.

- goro akechi’s death will forever haunt him. it stung because, despite everything, he’d considered the other teen a friend even post-betrayal. he doubted anyone would get that logic, but ren could see himself easily becoming what goro had become if their paths had been different. goro could have just as easily been the leader of the phantom thieves like ren could’ve been shido’s puppet. it was hard not to relate to the other teen and wish the best for him, so when he died ren was left in a weird haze of mourning. he’d never say they were close, per se, but still. he grieved for him anyway -- everyone deserved someone to miss them when they were gone.

- no matter how old they get, ren will always fondly refer to his friends by their phantom thieves codenames. he particularly does it when they do something reminiscent of their thieving days -- if ryuji gets into trouble, for example, he’ll call him skull and tease him if things are okay. he does it to himself too; some actions are simply the result of joker, not of ren, even if they are one in the same.

- his joker persona is everything ren wished he could be: suave, cool, and a natural-born leader. in reality, ren is rather quiet, snarky, and prefers to listen to others rather than have others listen to him. it took a few scoldings from morgana and some self-reflection to realize that joker was him. doing that made him mature more as an adult... and maybe become a bit more reckless as a result. 

- ren 100000% takes martial arts classes in reality once he starts phantom thieving. fighting is natural in the metaverse, but he sees how being able to defend oneself in reality is equally as important. makoto is a huge help in this endeavor, and it’s probably a bit scary how naturally learning these moves comes to him thanks to traversing the metaverse. 

- ren loves ryuji with all of his heart, but he absolutely hates that the teen runs for fun. he doesn’t mind exercise, no, but running is the bane of his existence. he literally only ran because the palaces required him to. 

- ren has a hard time saying no to other people. while on one hand it allowed him to help out his friends when they needed it, on the other it’s absolutely a fatal flaw of his that honestly? might end up getting him seriously hurt one day, if not outright killed. 

[eddycurrents]

Border Town #1 & 2 “Número Uno: Bienvenidos a Hell” & “Número Dos: Máscaras”

Writer: Eric M. Esquivel | Artist: Ramon Villalobos | Colourist: Tamra Bonvillain | Letterer: Deron Bennett

Published by DC Comics / DC Vertigo | 5.9.2018 & 3.10.2018 | $3.99

The Sandman Universe titles notwithstanding, Border Town was heralded as the flagship of the new DC Vertigo relaunch and refocus. When you look at the content, it’s easy to see why, even outside of the obvious quality of the story being told. 

Border Town encapsulates a lot of the verve and substance of the early Vertigo breakout projects, incorporating bits of the supernatural, mythology, humour, and the human experience in a mature and thought-provoking way.

Thematically, it’s also a series about that lurker at the threshold, the unknown just behind that liminal boundary, so it makes sense that it would serve as the doorway into the new DC Vertigo.

The first issue introduces us to one of our main point of view characters, Frank, as he and his family move to the town of Devil’s Fork, Arizona. He’s a fairly typical teenager, looking to more or less fit in, rebel against his parents, and punch white supremacists in the face. Complicating this is a bizarre little chupacabra, who is appearing as things that people fear, and eating people around town.

The second issue expands more or the mythological and folklore-based creatures residing in Mictlan, as we find out that the chupacabra from the first issue is a bit of a misfit of its own. It also gives a hint as to what’s happening to Blake since getting bit, and reforming a bit of a new Scooby Gang of Frank, Julietta, Aimi, and Quinteh even after they claimed to have gone their separate ways.

Frank is an interesting protagonist, if flawed. 

Through his point of view, we get a fresh look at Devil’s Fork, a quick run down of the numerous flaws of Arizona as a state, and that fish out of water quality of moving to a new town. You get a sense from him that he is fairly progressive, but there’s a violent streak in there. Kind of conflicting natures between someone looking to conform and someone looking to rebel. In essence, a teenager trying to find his place in the world.

I find how Eric M. Esquivel is developing Quinteh more interesting. In the first issue he’s somewhat the silent, misunderstood brute archetype, with it even being pointed out, but not necessarily confirmed, that he may be developmentally disabled. The second issue makes you wonder more if it’s just anxiety, as there’s a very nice story from his mom to help him overcome stress in social situations, and no particular irregularities in his speech patterns. I also quite like the parallel between his luchador mask and the ritual headdresses from Aztec culture.

Blake, a straight edge Nazi skinhead--which seems like a bizarre combination--, is set up as the early antagonist. He’s about what you’d expect from a racist playing at being a tough guy. That when it comes down to it, he’s a coward. He is changing, though, as hinted at in the second issue and it should be interesting to see what kind of monster he becomes.

The other characters are interesting, but still need some fleshing out. They feel like real people with interesting quirks. I particularly like Frank’s mom’s boyfriend, Nick. He’s obviously set up as a foil for Frank, and someone to rebel against, to blame for Frank’s current predicament, but he’s not particularly a “bad guy” for what little he appears so far. He’s kind of obnoxious, and holds some questionable views, but he comes across as someone at least trying to support his family.

I wonder about those creatures of myth and legend in Mictlan, though. We’ve only got the main characters interacting with the chupacabra so far, it’ll be interesting to see what develops further. With Frank and the kids ducking into La Curandera’s shop, and her hinting at something bigger, I wonder if this is going to take on more of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer approach in the future. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing further issues and arcs centring around these other beasties. La Llorona and La Lechuza have some fairly well-known transitions into English storytelling, but I’d love to see all of them developed.

The art in Border Town is incredible. Ramon Villalobos and Tamra Bonvillain are creating a unique and impressive visual array with this series, ranging from the ordinary kids to the weird supernatural creatures.

I really like Villalobos’ artwork. His style is in roughly the same school as Frank Quitely, Chris Burnham, and Martín Morazzo; highly stylized, but with an impressive range of character expression and design. The human characters are appealing and unique, especially when it comes to Quinteh and his luchador mask, but where he really shines is the supernatural aspect. The designs for the chupacabra, Mictlāntēcutli, and the other residents of Mictlan are very impressive. The variety and detail that go into the reflections of fears embodied by the chupacabra’s appearance is both humorous and interesting. I especially got a kick out of the “urban teenager” and Bane panels in the first issue.

Though using fairly normal, grounded hues for the human characters, there’s also a somewhat otherworldly glow that Bonvillain is applying to the world. The skies are often purple for night scenes and there are some very interesting choices for pinks, greens, and blues in backgrounds and in the characters that make it feel just slightly unnatural. It manages to enhance the overall feel of the story, making you feel something’s just a little bit off. This effect becomes even more pronounced in Mictlan when even stranger colours come to the fore.

Deron Bennett’s lettering is also quite nice. Particularly what I’d call the “Halloween font” for Mictlāntēcutli’s dialogue. It’s hilariously over the top and perfectly fits the grandstanding for the character.

There are a couple of problems, however, that arise in the book.

The first is the use of language. In the first issue, Quinteh is referred to with a slur used against the developmentally disabled. On Twitter, Esquivel has responded that it’s uttered by the “bad guy”, and that it is meant to portray Quinteh’s regular experience, which in itself is valid, but it still normalizes the ablest insult. It doesn’t matter if it’s being uttered by an antagonist or villain, it still uses the term in a negative and derogatory fashion.

Similarly, in both first and second issues, “pussy” is used to mean coward. In both cases, they’re spoken by a protagonist, so it can’t even be relegated to a bad act by a “bad guy”. This one is a bit more nebulous than the first since etymologically “pussy” in this regard isn’t problematic, however, most people don’t know the diminution of pusillanimous. Instead, they conflate it with a euphemism for female genitalia. Despite not logically making any sense to call a coward a vagina, it’s still perpetuates that meaning to many.

Which ties into the second potential problem of an undercurrent of toxic masculinity bleeding into the work. It’s very clear that some of the worst of it is an exhibited trait from the various antagonists in the series, like Blake, Frank’s mom’s boyfriend (though I don’t necessarily think of him as a “bad guy”, just not necessarily the brightest bulb and in the beginning a foil for Frank’s social unrest), the MAGA idiots at the beginning of the first issue, but it’s also exhibited by Frank himself.

Like with the use of “pussy” as an insult, Frank glorifies violence, and follows through with an assault on Blake. While this could certainly be considered justifiable given Blake’s attitude, and could be interpreted as a pleasing thing to the audience seeing it as a racist’s comeuppance, it’s undermined a bit by Frank’s further insult of Blake’s group being “White Powerpuff Girls”. While it is a clever pun, it further reinforces that idea of women or girls being an insult.

Given the care that Esquivel takes in the first issue to delineate how one should take pride in all of their ethnic heritage in their speech, not breaking it down by percentages like a “Half-Mexican”, it seems weird that this kind of machismo would be present. Maybe it’s intentional. Maybe it’s as is alluded to in the second issue another “mask”, another tough guy act that will be addressed, but all of this can be off-putting to some. I’d give Esquivel the benefit of the doubt for this being something to be addressed further in to the story.

Overall, I quite like this. 

The story so far is a nice mix of relevant social issues and supernatural adventures that reminds me a bit of an updated Buffy, but with a more irreverent sense of humour and pulling some of the kids’ problems to the forefront. It’s less about the supernatural right now, more about the coming-of-age aspect, though I feel like that’s going to slightly change. I do wonder how I’d feel about Frank being a “chosen one”.

And the art is fantastic. The storytelling from Villalobos and Bonvillain just makes the book come together. The characters, designs, and action elevate the book incredibly.

I’d recommend this to people who like a bit of humour with their horror, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wynonna Earp, or even something like Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files. Lapsed early Vertigo readers should also find something to like in Esquivel and Villalobos’ use of mythology and folklore to help explore the human condition.

Extra: There is a nice panel with a number of Easter eggs that ties together some Vertigo and DC mainstays. The most obvious being Dream’s mask, Doctor Occult’s talisman, a variation on Doctor Fate’s helmet, a poster of Constantine and Zatanna, Wonder Woman as a Virgin Mary stature, a Black Mercy plant, and more if you want to point out some of the other things on display. It’s a nice homage to what’s come before and places Border Town in the wider context of the DC/Vertigo history.

d. emerson eddy has a copy of the Lurker at the Threshold. It doesn’t have anything to do with this, but just wanted to mention HP Lovecraft. Who, despite being problematic in his racism and misogyny, still wrote some pretty great horror. Even if that one apparently is mostly August Derleth.

[atcabblog]

C’est moi

The sun has already risen and set for days I never actually counted, since this requirement was given. It was only today, as I was witnessing the sun kiss the horizon, that a word lingered in my mind which ignited the need for me to get my fingers typing:

In Philosophy, we see life as a constant quest of discovering the answer to a fundamental question: “Who am I?” It is a journey with no definite starting point. It depends on the person to choose where he wishes to explore. Along the way, he will come to understand more about himself, and all the essential aspects that comprise an individual.

In Research, we aim to seek for new knowledge to arrive with innovative ideas, which can result to an answer to existing problems. The early stage of writing the manuscript proves to be one of the most challenging part. You first need to have a problem or a question in mind, which will then be the focus of your study. After which, you will be crafting the first chapter, which is the crucial part of the study. It predetermines the journey ahead: will it be a smooth-sailing or a ship-through-a-storm kind of trip?

If you actually read all those gibberish, mazel tov! At first, I thought it was only a result of desperation to meet the 500-word limit. However, as I was typing away, I realized that it only meant one thing:

Just kidding. Now that you have a grasp of how this blog post will actually reflect the person behind it (whether he’s interesting or boring), just sit back, relax, and, well, I don’t know. You decide.

At some point in your life, you may have heard someone saying, “First impressions last.” Indeed, the way you are perceived by someone at first encounter will greatly affect the way he will interact with you. However, to dwell on your first impressions can be crippling (for the person concerned). Knowing someone skin-deep is never enough.

Skin-deep. Introducing yourself usually involves stating your basic personal information (e.g., name, age, gender). I have always seen these as trivial labels which will not necessarily define who you are as a person. However, let me just drop some useful information about me.

Name: it’s already indicated in my account

Age: is just a number hehe.

Sex: no thanks.

Birthday: I’ll tell you if you intend to give me a present.

Address: underworld

Now that I have wasted your precious minutes, let us now cut to the chase. Allow me to discuss some things deeper about me, because asking my name only yields one true answer and no follow-up questions (unless, of course, you ask the history behind my name).

Books are my source of solace. In this world full of turmoil and chaos, the realm of books has always been my escape route. I usually prefer reading fiction, as shown in my deep love for books written by J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. The world of magic and mythical creatures has always enticed me in a way that the real world never could.

I am a self-proclaimed son of Hades. Aside from belonging to Gryffindor house, I claim to be a demigod with Hades as my godly parent. NEVER ask me whether I would prefer to be a wizard or a demigod. Sure, I would want to avada kedavra some people in my life, but tormenting them with the Furies in the underworld also works. My profile picture is Nico di Angelo, my stepbrother. Like him, I have an obsession with the color black (It has been widely debated whether black is a color or not. There are many justifications to it, but I would gladly engage in an intellectual discourse if you wish). Moreover, I usually find myself preferring solitude, away from the busy crowd. However, it does not mean that I would always want to be alone. This will lead to an explanation in the next paragraph.

I am an ambivert. There would be times where I lock myself in my room and read a good book. In other times, I would feel uncomfortable if I do not get out of the house. Honestly, it is a confusing cycle. You could be talking (and actually socializing) with other people at one point, then suddenly lose energy for talking to other people.

I have the curse of a resting b*tch face. Yes, it plagues men, too. I say that it is a curse because it impedes my social skills. I have received a lot of comments saying that I am unapproachable and intimidating. Aside from the aura I radiate as a son of Hades, my facial expression is to be blamed. In my defense, I try my best to actually seem like I am smiling or holding a neutral face when you see me along the corridors, but I guess I fail most of the time.

Everything in this blog has, in one way or another, reflected my persona. However, it is never enough to define who I am. There will always be more to know about me just as there would still be things I try to discover about my being. Furthermore, this is only the first chapter. There will still be rocky waters or calm seas to sail through.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. Here’s a picture of my dog:

1. Where do I see myself 10 years from now? Was my learning in SPUP vital to where I’m leading to?

- I would be 28, and may be long done with my studies, dealing with the harsh reality of finding a stable job, or even looking for a lifetime partner. There are so many possibilities, and sometimes the beauty of life is in the uncertainty of things. However, I can say that a bright future awaits because I know I made a vital choice in my life: choosing SPUP.

2. Was STEM the best choice after all?

- At this point, a definite answer cannot be elicited. It will be the best choice if the K to 12 curriculum actually equips me with the adequate knowledge and skills to prepare me for whatever lies ahead.

3. What course will you take in college? Why?

- I am planning to pursue Chemical Engineering or Food Technology. My love for Chemistry is the reason behind this choice. But right now, the real problem is whether I will pass the entrance exam for my dream school or not.

4. What topic would you like to learn more in this subject?

- I want to learn more techniques in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Photoshop. With the advent of technology and the rise of 21st Century, it is actually a crucial skill to be technologically-adept.

5. Ask me anything.

- Is social media a boon or a bane?