#systems and architecture

[moastudiess]

CS jokes are so sad

I forget the context but I think it had something to do with how a friend of mine was on the verge of a C in processor design, but he clutched up last minute. For reference, he’s the head TA of a different course called computer systems. My boyfriend said “grades are temporary, but registers are forever”

The saddest part is that registers are temporary too, they’re used for temporary arithmetic in the manner of short term memory allocation in computer architecture

[389]

by @mr.roofpot

[iamhereinthebg]

Let's talk about the clock keepers boundary!

(warning: spoilers until chapter 124!!)

I've had some guess on where they could be from so let's look at what we have in the manga for now. I will keep things on surface level for the most part but it's just some things I noticed!

The first mention of the town is in chapter 111, where we finally have a view on their boundary.

A lot of fans already guessed from their clothes that they were not from Japan, this panel definitely confirms it and even points more precizely to a European country, mostly Western Europe. And also a country where Winter with snow exist.

It's also not an English speaking country, since Akane cannot understand the language and we know he has english classes at school.

Now there are several things we can look at to have more clues!

First, the architecture.

This type of house is called Timbered framed houses. It’s important to note that the roofs on those houses are really really sharp here. Which means theywere built for snow, so it can slide off the roofs more easily. The trees are also pines, something that can be found in a lot of Europe. (wood was needed to be able to create houses made of wood/with visible Framework( Little note: I know Italy was a guess for a lot of person because of the link to Pinocchio, but Italy main material for houses is stone not wood. And it is also not known for its winter.)

Here we can also see bricks which is something more associated to countries like Germany, Belgium or the Nertherlands, we don't have the colors so we can't guess from which minerals it was made for now.

But we have even more informations when we look at chapter 124!

The bridge and tower may be inspired by a fortified city, something that you could find A LOT in Western Europe during the middle age, not a lot of cities still have their entire walls but you can still see it if you go into old medieval towns. We can also see something that looks like a Belfry on several panels. Towers used mostly to indicate each passing hour of the day (may be a campanile or a bell tower (the difference is wether it's linked to religion or not basically)

Second! Let's do a little bit of clock making history!

I won't go into details, but there are some countries to point for this. England, The Netherlands and Germany. We already took out England before and we can easily erase Nertherlands from the list with the next step (my favorite one).

The food! I already had my suspicions confirmed with this bonus art from volume 22.

First of all, they have tea which is not something that was in Europe before the XVII century. But let's look at the sweets they have here.

Chocolates which look close to Belgian chocolate ( I say Belgian but other countries' chocolate is pretty close to it) , Christstollen Cake, and Spiztbuden.

We have even more to look at with the new chapter! And they confirm that it's indeed a stollen cake.

With all these foods it's now pretty obvious which area the clock keepers are inspired from.

Stollen cakes are German cakes, ginger cookies are from Germany too. I will also add that there is a chance the crescent moon cookies are VanilleKipferl. We have another panel showing Sausages and bread. Only the Almond is something not typical from Germany but which clearly was all over Western Europe with trades.

Their city already looked like the 'perfect christmas city' you can see in movies, inspired by German culture. And they also mention Mulled Wine which is THE beverage to take in any chritmas market in Europe.

Chritmas markets are inspired and coming from Germany first, but I wanna point something more.

My main guess was, Nuremberg, the city where the ancestor of the pocket watch was created, the Nuremberg Egg. It's also a Fortified city and it has forests around it. It's also known for its Ginger cookies!

So Germany would be a great pic, but the more I think about it the more I can also see the link to another region: Alsace.

Alsace is a region from France right now BUT it's a mixt of german and french culture (I will not make a history lesson but it is a place that always switched between France and Germany basically, now it's French).

All the food mentionned before are also made in the Alsace region!

It's situated in the Vosges, a chain of mountains known to have a lot of forets of pines and which is known to have villages like this:

Which were also the main inspirations for movies like Howl's moving castle for example. You can see the similarities between the artchitectures

The first ever Chritmas Market was in Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, when it was German and it spread accross Europe after.

I will now look at something I usually don't do because I exclude Aus from canon but it's just a funny thing to point out.

This au shows a snow town inspired by ginger bread houses. I just find it funny because Aoi is shown as a baker, with bread (which are not baguette I think, it's way larger here) but with some croissant on her table (disclaimer: Croissant are not french at first, this form here is, but it's from Austria otherwise) And Kako clearly has something similar to a Wine bottle in his hands. This au is the only one featuring them, was given with their volumes and the vibes are really similar to their boundary.

I would say no matter what it's definitely closer to German culture but I wanted to point out this region which is known for it's Christmas season and its typical houses.

I will mostly say that it's an inspiration from this region of Europe, I don't know if a real country is the reference for it since we don't even know where tbhk takes place, but it's always funny to look at those things :DD

Little bonus:

In a more messy note, the clothes. I put them at the end because besides their hats, I had no idea how to describe it, since it seems pretty typical of what people could wear in winter.

I did the research in the other way, to look for German and Alsacian clothing to see if it match and it kinda does but I don't think it's speficific to this region. The girls wear classic white Charlotte and big clothes with layers for Winter.

The clock keepers clothes are different, it looks like a mixt of Japanese and western European clothing (especially from england).

Their main outfits for Akane and Kako really just look like a typical waistcoast/costume you can find in the XIXth century in Europe and Mirai's seems more inspired by a mixt of a Kimono with several layers(she also has sandals and frills) and a coat? The little knots Kako and Akane have on their coats look like something inspired from Mizuhiki knots too (I actually saw a costume with those exact same knots in a museum but I didn't take a picture rip)

So I would say they probably changed slowly their attire when they arrived in Japan, we don't know since how many times they are here, but we know that what is happening in the deeper place of the boundary is linked to memories previous to their arrival. According to their origin I think we can say that it's pretty sure they arrived after the Meiji/during the Meiji Era in Japan (1868/1912), since it's a this time Japan mostly imported Western culture (for clothing here, the first contact was before this. And note: it was mostly rich people who dressed like this). And If we look at some others dates like the things they are eating, used to have or even their clothes, I would say it's more probably the Meiji Era and not in the XVs.

Another note is that their clocks have the numbers written in japanese on it (in the og version but it maye just be so it's readable for the japanese readers? idk if it's a choice or not).

I haven't searched much on their clothes but it was still something I wanted to note here ^^

[garadinervi]

Susan Snodgrass, Inside the Matrix: The Radical Designs of Ken Isaacs, Half Letter Press, Chicago, IL, 2019 [Art: © Estate of Ken Isaacs]

From the back cover: «Inside the Matrix: The Radical Designs of Ken Isaacs surveys the highly individual practice of American architect and designer Ken Isaacs (1927-2016), whose populist, DIY designs created from the 1950s to the 1970s challenged conventional architectural concepts in housing, as well as mainstream definitions of modernism. His flexible, accessible plans provided alternative solutions to the spatial and environmental challenges of midcentury modern life, while influencing subsequent generations of architects and designers interested in nomadic architecture, sustainability, and DIY practices.»

[fairsweetlonging]

just saw a comment on tiktok saying that the bamboo house is called that because it's set in the bamboo forest, and not because it's made of bamboo, and i uh. i feel betrayed. and very dumb

[vieformidable]

The picture of earth from space that we will rarely be shown

[raayllum]

Something I really appreciate about TDP's worldbuilding is the way it gives enough detail to reasonably connect some pieces, while also leaving plenty of space to play. I feel like the example in show that I come back to most often are the Earthblood elves in S4 (and a bit in S5).

For example:

Given that the Uncharted Forest seems to be where the majority of Earthblood elves live, they likely use the forest as an inherent form of defense. They are also much further east into Xadia compared to Moonshadow and Sunfire elves. Therefore, it makes sense they're less overtly militaristic compared to the other two (cloaked villages and assassins vs weaponry, strong military presence integrated into day-to-day interactions and laws) groups of elves.

The fact that the Uncharted Forest is uncharted indicates less emphasis on written works (unlike Sunfire elves with the Great Bookery). This likely means that oral tradition and storytelling is how their knowledge is passed down and recorded.

The riders of the Drakewood would have little reason to ride drakes unless they were 1) hunting, 2) trading, or both. Their affinity for nets, chases, and ensnaring, as well as having to feed the drakes (who would likely be omnivores or carnivore leaning) means a lot of meat is passing through their hands. They also seem to hunt more than other elves we see (Moonshadows foraging and carrying moonberry juice > hunting while on the road). This emphasis on hunting for food for the Drakeriders, with meat then likely being traded to allies, possibly reflects why Earthblood elves we see are more willing to use (and abuse) animals (the Drakeriders) and subsequently why Terry is maybe more okay, overall, with dark magic. Terry clearly came from a different village, but we can see a consistent thread of how they treat and frame nature between them, making N'than the only true exception.

Being so far into Xadia likely protects them from the more imminent threat of dark mages that western elves have to deal with, at least culturally/in theory. The Drakeriders, at least, are "known for viciously protecting their turf," using N'than as a cultural exception of bonding with outsiders and being willing to. While other Earthblood elves might be friendlier, Terry being willing to leave before or after meeting Claudia is likely more odd; this isn't true for just Earthblood elves, though, as it seems inter-community travel isn't common for any group of elf, furthering their collectivist leaning isolationist tendencies ("they always told me outsiders were dangerous, but—").

Lastly, Terry mentions that there a lot of synonyms for cinnamon in traditional Earthblood language(s), indicating that—if not in general, then at least for his regional dialect—there is a lot of emphasis on food and cooking.

And idk. I just think it's all neat, and makes me wonder what Earthblood elf lives/communities are like for those outside the Drakewood, and if they used to be more dependent on Rex Igneous in the past before he started (seemingly) really withdrawing from the wider world on a more consistent basis.

[coffee-without-anesthetics]

naissancee hates you , playing it , but that " hate " has different flavors you see . " lucy is lost " is the beginning of hate , ingestion , an impersonal hatred - you are here , uninvited , and it makes no effort to accommodate for you , lucy ; blinding light , then the darkest of claustrophobic spaces , a little puzzle - it is Curious , not yet hateful . " going down " is almost playful : you are still here , somehow , and it starts to toy with your mind - the falls are anything beyond what your mind can understand , facsimiles of human architecture ( stairs , spires, doors , a club ) that all culminate in a descent , swallowing you , deeper in . " breath compression " , by comparison , may even be called personal : you yet live , and in the stomach of a construct built on pure volume , pure space , you yet dare slither from one vent to another . the hatred is blooming and Felt : it has given up passively eliminating you , and now it has taken matters into its " hands " , even Using you to awaken more of itself , to bring more elements to life and Kill You .

" deeper into madness " is a realization , upon your survival , that it has neglected one important aspect of You : your mind . it has been so long since anything living ( or maybe ever ) has wandered its body that it has forgotten , perhaps , that part . but now it is awake , now it is Alive again , and it knows you . and so does it try ; it brings you back to the beginning , into a loop , it dwarfs you ( before so impersonally , but now so close , close , the center , forever deep below creation , too close i cannot breathe- ) , it blinds you , immobilizes , hunts through corridors endlessly similar with light that whispers , that wants to Find You , accordion in your ears , deafening , your visions all blurs and soft edges- and yet does it let you get away .

" interlude " , then , is what it is - a break . it has wanted you broken , and yet you survive . it has seen that you will Bend , and it allows for a reprieve . it allows you a moment of rest ; there , walk bridges between thunder and strikes of light both , there , climb endlessly in the darkness a staircase unallowed to exist - it is a time to think , to reflect , lucy , but you are not the only one of thoughts capable here . it is alive , it is angry , and it is Thinking .

" endless dive " is the coldest of its anger in the warmest of all places ; a desert stretching for miles , nonsensical structures littering it , enormous ( though the word , for all intents and purposes , has long since lost its meaning here ) blocks held up by seemingly just the air above you , threatening to fall any time , and you are still there , why are you still there , go lower , go , fall , into the bowels of constructs and architecture , hateful both , it wants you out , Out , OUT-

and then you meet the host .

[pomefioredove]

I’m studying international law in college and finished in the summer a class about genocide. My autism will NOT allow me to shut up about the horrors of mankind so I know if I were in Yuu’s place I would be constantly disturbing those around me.

Riddle and Azul would find the issues with the legal system fascinating though. Everybody would be confused on why I would want to go back.

I can't tell you how many times I think about the actual political/historical world of twisted wonderland. I want to understand everything about it. I would live in trein's classroom. bc if lilia's dream in book 7 is any indication, this world is just as fucked as ours, we/yuu just hasn't learned the full extent of that yet. I wanna knowww

[hippiebohostyle]

[fashionlandscapeblog]

THE_SYSTEM LAB

Kosmos Resort, South Korea, 2017

[science70]

"The University Library of the Future" envisioned in an Armstrong C-60 Luminaire Ceiling System ad, 1966.

[robertocastigliaphotography]

Milky Way. Rocca Calascio. Abruzzo, Italy.

[garadinervi]

Ken Isaacs, (1974), How to Build Your Own Living Structures, Edited by Pierre Hourquet and Christophe Daviet-Thery, Design by Pierre Hourquet, Text by Susan Snodgrass, Christophe Daviet-Thery, Paris, 2025 [Saint-Martin Bookshop, Bruxelles-Brussel. Les presses du réel, Dijon. © Estate of Ken Isaacs]

[otherside-wanderer]

The vaults of St. Isidore's Cathedral