#worth a mention about the difference between audience and intended audience

[stuffnonsenseandotherthings]

I've briefly mentioned this before but I'm falling head over heels in love with how Jojo is coding Mew as living in a entirely different GENRE to the rest of the characters in the series.

Ray, Boston, Top, Sand, and Nick? They're all inhabiting the same world/genre. It's a bit grimy, it's gritty, it's messy, the morals are (50 shades of) grey... it's a young adult TV series/movie at its most angsty and hormonal and the way they act and their story arcs reflect that.

But Mew?

Mew gets a voice over introduction:

Mew gets a "lead girl in a high school movie" wake up scene:

Mew gets a week long montage of the guy he likes trying to woo him, a grand gesture confession (which Sand even says outright it's like something out of a romance movie), TWO full dates (in the wakeboarding everyone is there but the camera focusses on the two "couples" Chueam/April and Top/Mew), and he EVEN gets an "I like reading, it takes me somewhere else" library scene:

All of these scenes are taken directly from the teen romances of the 90s, in fact they are literally some of the most key and recognisable scenes from any 90s teen romance worth their salt.

Mew doesn't just live in a different world to his friends, he's from a completely different genre.

@chicademartinica posted here about how Jojo is queering 90s erotic thrillers in Only Friends and I want to take that a bit further and say Jojo is actually going so far as to queer the 2 most popular representations of young adults in the 90s: the Cruel Intentionseque erotic thrillers AND uni/high school teen romance of She's All That fame.

Furthermore he's breaking down the barriers between the two. By having the two very different (also completely opposite) genres inhabit a single show, by blurring the boundaries between them, by having them leak into one another in a way their original creators never intended them too, Jojo is queering some of the most recognisable storytelling structures of some of the most popular forms of 90s media.

And now as an audience we get to sit back and watch what happens when the binary dissolves and it's probably going to be glorious chaos (followed by a deep sense of catharsis).

[heaven-is-in-your-arms-series]

Costume Break Down

aka more than you ever wanted to know about Thai dance costume details but I think they are gorgeous and require so much effort to create and wear that they are worth celebrating.

Let's take a look at Khem's beautiful red costume.

Here the presence of the dagger and the colour choice quite firmly indicate that he is performing the role of the hero Prince Inao from the Lakhon Nai dance drama 'The Romance of Inao.'

His costume is based on the traditional costumes worn by heroes in both Khon and Lakhon Nai. There are some historical differences between the two types but they have very much influenced each other from the 19th Century onwards.

There are some elements of his costume that read as modern influences which I suspect are to reflect both current tastes and also the fact that the costume was intended to be seen on screen rather than a stage.

Here we see Khem's ornate headdress, known as a chada, he has a flower garland on the right side of his crown, which is the side that male characters always wear these flower pendants with heroines displaying them on the left.(Historically Lakhon Nai was only performed by women and was only for the eyes of the royal court although rules did relax in the 19th Century.)

It's hard to see in these pictures but he would usually be wearing the ornate wing shaped ear kaffa as well, which sit around the ears.

We can also see his very fine inthorn-tanu, which are those high pointed shoulder pads, worn by male characters to exaggerate their body shape.

We can see him wearing the ornate wide collar around his neck, known as a krong-kaw and a large pendant pinned to the end of the collar against his chest.

A body chain known as sangwan is then crossed around the pendant and is usually attached to an ornamental belt or just below it, at the front and back of the costume.

Khem's sangwan is a relatively simple looking version of what can be a very intricate piece of jewellery but I suspect it is because the camera will be getting a much closer look at him than an audience looking at a stage could do.

In general I think his costume is not quite as ornate and covered with detail as a stage costume often is but there is just enough there to show the luxurious nature of dance outfits without looking too much on screen.

The above picture also gives us a great look at both his hoy-na, a silk panel that hangs at the front of the costume, (here it is red and gold with gold fringe) and his hoy-kang, the silk panels that sit either side of the central hoy-na.

We also see one very modern addition - the shiny gold buttons!

Traditionally dancers are sewn into their costumes with no visible seams, a lengthy process which does run the risk of damaging the costumes every time they are stitched and unstitched.

I suspect that Apo is still partly sewn into this outfit but I imagine they wanted to give him a top that he could get in and out of more easily as he would need to be able to change constantly for filming.

I really like the design of the top, it gives both a hint of Western influence with the shape but also has a Chinese feel with the high collar and then those beautiful very Indian looking fabrics, which feels appropriate for the era and for Man Suang itself. We see it sits over the pha-nung and hoy-na etc which would not typically be the case and is why I suspect he is not also wearing a cloth belt under it as well (mentioned below.)

The red tights are also a modern addition, usually we would see bare legs and feet but they do give a very theatrical look which feels fitting for Man Suang.

From this angle we can see his pha-nung, which is a long rectangular cloth that is usually pre stitched and pleated and is wrapped around the waist and drawn through the legs to be tied in a knot at the back.

Underneath that he will be wearing a pair of sanab-plao, short trousers with deep embroidered hems that sit just below the knee.

He may also be wearing pha-pawk, which is a fabric that basically functions like hip pads to assist the pha-nung in exaggerating the body shape to create an image that mimics statues and murals depicting dancers.

Usually he would be wearing a radsa-aew, a cloth belt which is stitched into place and secures the pha-nung. I can't tell just by looking at this but I suspect he may not be given the way his clothes are lying.

We can see he is wearing a lovely cloak here that appears to be silk lined velvet.

Here we can see his embroidered sleeves, these are usually sewn on to an undershirt which also has padding sewn into it to exaggerate the shape of their chests. The decorative outer shirt is then usually sewn onto that undershirt.

Now in this picture, we see the fancy sleeves taper off to a plain red fabric at the shoulders which could indicate the presence of an undershirt but there is that clip in the trailer where Khem tugs his costume open and we see his bare chest so I don't know whether he is or isn't. Perhaps it depends on the necessity for him to be able to strip in any given scene which is totally fine by me!

We can also see his decorative golden vambraces and he is likely also wearing beads or a bracelet of rings as well. Usually more is more when it comes to dance jewellery but once again, I think they have been more restrained here.

Rings worn on the fingers are common and of course, anklets are essential.

At least they are to me ❤️

[monstersinthecosmos]

can i ask what you mean re: disliking how the amc show deals with SA? (zero judgement ftr i just love hearing opinions about this show from other simple italian perv enjoyers. btw you're one of my favorite fic authors ever ever & i think abt gallows bird daily 🙈)

Obviously since you mentioned Gallows Bird in this very ask (thank you btw dskjglads I’m blushing) I’m not going to sit here and say people should never write about rape!!!!!!!!!!!  And I’ve been soul searching and talking this out with a friend today to make sure I’m not just being a hater and that I’m not having cognitive dissonance over the difference between writing porn (intentionally, intended as porn, labeled as porn) vs lazily throwing sexual assault at female characters for “character development”.

(putting this under a cut bc I'm not trying to hate on youse guys's show!!)

It's not that we should never talk about it, or never write about it, but I think it’s like any other storytelling where like, the framework and intention inside the text matters, and criticizing if it landed the way the creator intended is worth discussing. So like, I’m a fan of noncon smut fic, I won’t deny that. I also approach it in a context where I know I’m consuming smut, and it was intended as smut, and it belongs in its own lane. And I think, personally, I enjoy fics (which by nature are anarchistic and transformative) because they tend to be a commentary either on our culture or on the canon source material. Even when fanfics are PWPs that don’t go out of their way to talk about character arcs or make profound commentary on the canon, fanfic EXISTS as a commentary on canon in the first place, so it’s there by default.

So with AMC there’s a few things that really bother me about how they wrote Claudia in S1, and full disclosure I haven’t watched S2 yet, so take this with a grain of salt.

I don’t think it’s cool when a production team of mostly cishet men think that the only way to develop a female character is to have her raped. It’s lazy and it’s hurtful to the audience, and in this particular show it was not handled with sensitivity to make the story worth it. Like, what was the weight of the scene vs what it told us, and what was the payoff? Did the show earn this? (I personally don’t think it did.)

RJ himself said it was to “toughen her up” and that’s just, absolutely fucking nauseating to me, especially when it’s stamped with so many hallmarks of How Not to Write Rape. For example, the fact that they use it to tell us about LOUIS. It’s about LOUIS. It’s not about Claudia at all; we see her assault and the net result is seeing how it affects the MEN in her life. And even using her diary as a framing device for these moments, to tell it from her own words the best they can, it’s still about Louis. The pages being ripped out (in S1, idk how this lands in S2) are about protecting Louis. Claudia didn't remove the pages to protect herself, as far as we know--the men in her life removed them to protect Louis. Fridging a female character for the sake of developing the mens feelings is lazy and obnoxious, and in this story in particular it felt extremely unnecessary to the plot, and adding it at all just came across as gratuitous to me.

(Also, I can tell that this show is like, an exercise in slow burning, but, I just think the bar is really fucking high if they make this all mean something smarter but made everyone sit through this and wait 1.5+ years to get around to tucking it in lol. And like, idk what the pages could possibly say/how they will present it that will change my opinion, but RJ's comments can't be unheard so I'm not sure it matters and the trust simply isn't here, for me. Personally I don't have the patience to wait years for a show to close a loop like this but maybe you're more patient than me.)

I don’t want to get into a whole side essay about how gross I find the Claudia writing in general, but like, as a TLDR the way they aged her up only to reduce her to sex is just so fucking gross to me, and not like in a IT’S HORROR, IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE GROSS way, but in a This Is Kinda Fucking Sexist way. Especially with the sexist comments RJ has made about Anne Rice herself, while piggybacking her IP to make his show. But like, there were OTHER things about Claudia already. They already told us she came from an abusive background. She did not need to be raped for her to come home and recognize the abuse between her parents. Any number of horrific things could’ve happened to her out in the world, but the only way this team knows how to traumatize a girl is to have her raped.

And again I didn’t watch S2 yet so like, I’m not entirely sure how it shakes out, correct me if I’m wrong, but we find out now that it was prolonged and worse than what S1 showed us?

Like, why.

Who does the torture porn serve. We already got it, it was already horrific. We already got it. You’re overselling lol.

Claudia is already tough. She survived her dismal mortal life, she survived Lestat. She was brave enough to wander into the world, not just as a teen, but as a Black girl! She was already independent! In the book, she was the driving force behind helping Louis escape Lestat, and she was pulling the strings in getting them to Europe. The show has that material to pull from. We can see that she’s strong already. We don’t need more rape to communicate it. It’s lazy and gross. Especially when, in the same episode, they are able to traumatize Louis with horrific violence. The show knew how to use violence, mind gift manipulation, race and age and power dynamics in ways that did not involve rape, but still chose to have Claudia raped.

I don’t have an issue with stories talking about sexual assault but I think like, especially after Game of Thrones, we’ve had like, 10 years of media criticism mapping out how to write sexual assault successfully or respectfully, we’ve had endless commentary about how we can find other ways to traumatize women that do not rely on sexual assault, we’ve had endless commentary about how stories about sexual assault would be more effective if they were about the victim and not ultimately about the men in the story.  Like, enough of this already.

So, I’ll be curious to see how the show handles Armand’s sexual assault history, and if we see the writing handled differently because he’s a man, or because we have him directly on screen to tell us about it. This might reveal if this is a like, “only tool in the toolbox is rape” situation or a “women exist in fiction to be raped” situation. But if Lestat suffered at the hands of Magnus without being raped and Louis suffered at the hands of Lestat without being raped*, I have to ask why it was okay to have Claudia raped, why that was the thing they came up with, and while they can’t backpedal and fix the way RJ spoke about it during S1, they have an opportunity to be more intentional with the way they write it for Armand.

(*I do want to add that S1E5 being bookended by blood drinking was a hint that Lestat drinking from Louis during their fight was also rape, contrasted by the way Louis drinks from Armand in the beginning as ~ lovemaking ~; imo that could've been a more tasteful way to handle it in this universe specifically, when that’s the sex analog in the books. So like, yes in some ways Louis was raped by Lestat in this episode, but that also shows we respect Louis enough to have it symbolic vs Claudia’s being literal.)

But I just have a real bad feeling, the way they made Lestat WAY WORSE I just imagine they’ll do the same to Marius. And it’s sort of ironic that the show in a lot of ways exists in conversation with the book canon, like, the racial commentary feels at times like a commentary on the books’ racism, and I wonder what the decision making process was when they were picking which themes to correct, or comment on. Because a LOT of people criticize themes of rape and abuse in VC, and in some ways the show making it more overt feels like they’re putting a huge spotlight on it to acknowledge it properly, and in other ways, having Claudia raped feels like it’s going down the same path of insensitive, shallow writing.

And also, idk where I’m supposed to tuck this thought lol, but as an addendum I can’t not mention that I think it’s really fucked up that they’ve talked nonstop about how much they respect AR and the canon and yet had the analog character of her daughter raped. Like, in S1 they burn the tapes, in S2 they mock the plotlines as being a soap opera, and they have her daughter raped. Like, Claudia was the REASON for VC in the first place. IWTV is about Anne Rice grieving her daughter, and it sucks that the best way they could come up with existential cosmic horror for a teen girl vampire was to give her a perma-hymen and have her raped. It’s just gross, I don’t like it lol.

The first quote I saw from RJ when the show got announced, he said something like "IWTV was written by a grieving mother" -- not Anne Rice, best selling author who reinvented the vampire genre, but "a grieving mother." And it's just, idk. Rubs me the wrong way that he can reduce her that way and be this disrespectful for the character based on her daughter. =/

[bottombaron]

while doing research for another theory I came across a completely mundane detail that I can’t imagine holding any actual significance but at the same time I couldn’t pass up sharing it

so, during the scene that I am calling the Pepsi Challenge, we have this moment:

Nandor gives Guillermo, as he says, a “flat Pepsi”

except Guillermo doesn’t drink Pepsi…

my boy is a Coke-Cola drinker as the lord intended.

normally this isn’t even worth mentioning. maybe the line was ad-libed or read wrong, or it’s just a joke that wasn’t thought about very long and that’s all good! i’m cool with all that. what would this inconsistency even mean in the long run anyway right? how would Nandor even know the difference between Coke and Pepsi???

really what gets me is that in the scene the bottle is set and reset two or more times, almost always keeping the label visible.

now, it’s been a while since i’ve been thru this issue on a set, but my understanding was that no labels could be used without paying a licensing fee. which is why you usually see fake labels on products in tv and film or more likely, they just turn a product at an angle so the label can’t be read and nobody has to pay anything to use it. but here the label is not only clearly visible but it maintains visibility at almost all cuts. which means the bottle was purposefully realigned in order for audiences to see that Guillermo is undoubtably drinking Coke-Cola. wwdits paying a licensing fee for this seems a little odd considering it’s not like Guillermo drinking Coke is important in anyway. it doesn't give significant product-placement either. but then Nandor brings up the flat Pepsi and i’m like ??? and if anyone says that Guillermo drinks both, shut your goddamn mouth and jump in a lake and when you climb out find the nearest convenience store and drink one or both of them because obviously you never had before and have no idea what you’re talking about. the two drinks are notorious for, if one is liked, the person would find the other absolutely disgusting.

also, yes, Guillermo didn’t just have it for show. he actually drunk it.

again, i’m not saying this means anything. i just think it’s interesting. 🤷‍♂️

[idkaguyorsomething]

Why you should read A Study In Emerald

While technically not a fanfiction on account of both the properties it’s based off of being in the public domain, A Study In Emerald is basically a crossover fic between Sherlock Holmes and the Lovecraft mythos, written by none other than Neil Gaiman himself! The above link will lead to a version of the story printed in a pulpy classic newspaper format, but it can also be read in more traditional formatting and has a graphic novel adaptation that is worth checking out.

The Premise: a disabled war veteran moves in with a consulting detective who is soon charged with investigating a high-profile murder, but not all is as it seems. Taking place in a very different world where the Old Ones reign supreme over humanity, A Study In Emerald presents a surprisingly compact but satisfying mystery that is tantalizingly presented to the audience bit by bit until the curtain is pulled back in a really cool reveal at the end.

Why You Should Read It: the story strikes an excellent balance between presenting the reader with enough information that they can put the clues together and maintaining suspense without making it incredibly obvious where things are going. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to outsmart the audience, rather it plays with the expectations of what one would expect in a Sherlock Holmes story, and piecing together the clues feels incredibly satisfying whether it’s your first time reading or fifteenth. The twist is one of those that makes more sense the more you think about it rather than one that was obviously slapped on for shock value, and unraveling it makes for a compelling sort of meta-mystery in its own right. This version of Holmes and Watson stand out as very distinctive versions of themselves because of the unique circumstances they find themselves placed in, but are still quite recognizably themselves. The works they inhabit is filled with enough detail and personality that it feels like a crime that people haven’t written more fanfic of this fic, because it is just brimming with potential and unique adventures that the og detective duo could be going on. There’s also some little cameos from other classic literature figures like Dracula and Dr. Jekyll, so if you’ve read those it can be really fun to pick those out. And of course it comes with that classic Lovecraftian horror of unknown, unfathomably powerful beings who in this case happen to be the heads of world governments. No applicability there, nope.

Potential Reasons to Stay Away: if you don’t have some prior knowledge of the supporting cast/recurring antagonists of Sherlock Holmes stories, then the ending will probably be very confusing and not make nearly as much intended sense. Previous experience with the Sherlock Holmes stories really gives the whole story a lot more punch. Not so much with the Lovecraft mythos, but some details will end up flying over your head. And, as one might expect from such a crossover, there is murder, body horror, and constant mentions of being driven into madness by horrors yet unfathomable to the human mind. Also, I guess that if you just really don’t want to see the Queen of England depicted as an evil colonizing monster who’s also an eldritch abomination this time around, this probably isn’t the story for you? (It’s certainly a perk for some people)

TL; DR A Study In Emerald is a cool Sherlock Holmes crossover with Lovecraft that respects its reader’s intelligence and comes with a cool-ass twist at the end. Give it a try if you’re a fan of either one, it’s relatively short and very fun to read.

[highly-important]

Splatoon and Commercial Countercultures

When Splatoon came out it actually reminded me a lot of Jet Set Radio.

Not necessarily game-play, but the imagery and themes in both games. Both are about music, urban life, fashion, and turf wars fought between rival gangs through graffiti. The color palettes of both games are a mix of urban greys and beige and vivid bright colors. Even the “hosts” or “narrators” of both games being musician media personalities. I’m not the only one who sees this. There is a lot of “Jet Squid Radio” fanart mashing up the two games, even this song.

But I think major difference is summed up by the fact that in Jet Set Radio, the bad guys are the cops.

In Jet Set Radio, you are in an actual gang fighting other gangs, the DJ is running an licensed pirate radio station, the fascist police force have no problem shooting someone who is merely defacing public property, and the big bad is a corporation trying to swallow the entire city.

And in Splatoon, the “turf war” battles are a commercially-organized team sport, re-enacting a war that took place 100 years ago in which the opposing Octolings were banished to underground bunkers. In Splat 1 and 2 the solo missions are to fight the Octolings. The game even takes time to mention that the ink you paint vanishes after the match is over, so you are not actually defacing public property. (To be clear, all of these things are much more conservative and much less subversive)

One thing want to make  clear is although I am highlighting the contrasts between these two games because of their relative similarities, Splatoon was never obligated to be Jet Set Radio, and I am not trying to criticize the game for being something it was never intending to be. Jet Set Radio was made by a smaller studio, with less restrictions, and at the time SEGA was taking bigger risks on trying to court its target audience.

But that being said, no matter how much I love Splatoon, I feel like it doesn’t have anything to say at all. These aren’t anti-authority, anti-capital games, or games that ask tough questions at all. They’re games about supporting a status quo. I think Octo Expansion and parts of Splatoon 3 explore some interesting topics, but never in a way I think is all that challenging.

And obviously, Nintendo is never going to say anything radical in the same way that Disney isn’t going to either. And a game marketed to an older audience can have a edgier message than a game marketed to all ages. But I think its an example of how counter cultures get hijacked by corporations, which then have the power to change and control the messaging of these cultures.

Brands need authenticity, they need cultural relevance. Culture is just extremely important in marketing. Corporations are always going to be the loudest voice with the furthest reach, so when a corporation takes over a culture or movement, the corporation has more power to control the messages, values, even practices and beliefs of the culture than the people who belong to that culture. And that means that if a culture’s beliefs run contradictory to the needs of a corporation, the corporation can co-opt that culture and redirect its messaging and values.

A kind of goofy but very recent example was the “De-influencer” movement on Tiktok. It started as a reaction to trends like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, where consumers just showed off products they purchased after seeing them on TikTok. A slew of TikTok users tried leveraging their influence to tell people to stop buying products because it isn’t worth it. De-influencing sprang from a place of authenticity. But in a matter of days, Influencers hijacked the movement and changed its message. Instead of “don’t buy things you don’t need,” they quickly used the hashtag to pan certain products and tell viewers to buy alternatives instead. Just completely reversing the intent of the message and intent of the original movement.

In the fifteen years between Jet Set Radio and Splatoon 1, street art and graffiti culture has gone mainstream. Businesses are decorating their walls with street art. My office took our team to a “street art class” to learn graffiti. So, the reason why Nintendo could make a game about street art is because by that point street art had gone mainstream. We are also seeing an industry that is maturing, getting more refined and relying less on riskier strategies.

If I had  to interpret the intent behind Splatoon, I’d say they were trying to create a fun, colorful space where self-expression is encouraged, and the teen characters are unburdened by authority figures. These things are all very “safe” for a mainstream audience. And I think that is why the games accidentally attracted a huge queer audience. To a queer audience, those things (fun, colorful, self-expressive, no authority) are all still radical ideas.

Maybe it was a perfect storm of different little things that add up to a product the LGBTQ community cares about. The shooter genre is bleak and often pretty toxic, and Splatoon created a space for a niche audience that rejects those things. The characters themselves are androgynous and fluid, and you’re free to dress and style yourself however you’d like. There is a lot of unopposed freedom that its going to be attractive to certain communities. Splatoon accidentally made the type of sandbox that a queer gamer audience wanted to inhabit.

And while Splatoon’s queer following might not have a major influence on how future Splatoon games are made, it doesn’t discount the fact that the LGBTQ community has a strong presence in online Splatoon spaces. Corporations can try and control the message, but they can’t control how we think or suppress counter cultures. 

And I guess I am also considering some of my own thoughts about the two games as well. I know this is all over the place, sorry. Jet Set Radio was made for people of my generation, which is why it resonates with me more. Different generations need different messages and that’s fine. But either way, corporations still have the power of what messages go out there. I doubt SEGA would publish a game like this now if it was brand-new, but they wouldn’t have published it in 2000 either if the message was too contradictory with SEGA’s goals. Capital is not going to release anything with a message that is a threat to its bottom line.

[mdhwrites]

What is the Dark Genre?

There really isn't one. It's entirely a vibe that people end up talking about. This isn't even a joke. You look up Dark Fantasy and authors admit that the commonalities between any two pieces are often sparse, mostly being in atmosphere and potentially including horror elements. You try to just look up dark fiction an you don't even get Wikipedia but just a bunch of listacles telling you different dark books or movies for you to check out.

And I'm!... Not going to try to firmly say what is dark or not in this blog. I have a lot of thoughts, especially on what I think many are talking about when they call something 'dark' but most genres at least have some elements most people can point to. Adventure books will have challenges, a journey and a destination the character is trying to reach. Action will have fighting and danger. Fantasy will have magic while Scifi reaches into speculative, future territory.

Dark as a genre though doesn't really have specific identifiers though. What any two people think makes a work qualify as dark is going to change and even then, what is required to sell those dark elements. Two people may agree that a person being killed is dark but then diverge about narrative framing being required or not to make that the case. After all, most people agree that massacring thousands of people is horrific. However, boot up a muso (Warriors) game and BOY is it fun to just carve your way through an entire army! How do you bring together those dichotomies into something coherent for a genre?

Narrative framing does a LOT of work for what people consider 'dark'. Horror crosses the line into dark for a lot of people and when I say haunted house in this context, you shiver and go "Yeah, lots of dark and spooky things to do there." Then I tell you what I'm talking about isn't a horror movie but the set to a hidden camera prank show and the haunted house isn't scary or dark, it's a place to laugh and enjoy. Same element theoretically, since in both the enjoyment is primarily from seeing people deal with the gruesome, horrific nature of the house but the framing changes the vibe so much as to make you never even consider the latter to be dark.

Intended audience can also have this effect. Someone in Game of Thrones complains about having grown up hungry and you might throw them some sympathy but compared to what could have happened? It's small time. Barely worth considering until they mention what the horrors they committed to break free of those days. Meanwhile, in a kid's show, a character mentions having grown up starving and that's all they need for a dark backstory: That they struggled for food. That's because people see the topic as more taboo in the context of the intended audience and so inherently is darker than when something that is seen as more 'mature' addresses such topics.

And that gets into what a lot of people theoretically mean when they talk about dark media. For many, it is actually pretty much the opposite of children's media. The more all ages something is, the more it is perceived as inherently light and incapable of being dark. Worse yet, many people then dismiss these works for this lighthearted perception, claiming that such works can never talk about deeper, more mature subject matter that much dark media claims to brood about.

This is of course bullshit. I rewatched the pilot to Static Shock and while I wouldn't call it dark, it includes literal gang violence and mentions of the consequences of that gang violence. How people are pulled into gang violence. Has the main character, who is a teenager, literally get given a gun and be told to be ready to use it. This would be serious in ANY piece of media NOW and Static Shock came out in late 2000.

But because the dark genre is mostly vibes based, how we perceive it has to contrasted by something else. This is how we got the grimdark 90s where the push for wanting 'serious' stories instead of paragons and boy scouts led to everyone murdering people with giant guns and fucking because, you know... Not gonna see Superman doing that! Disney would never dare to have a princess curbstomp an innocent person!

This is also why edge and darkness are so often back lashed against as juvenile. It's probably why something like Game of Thrones wasn't pushed as 'dark' fantasy by many of its fans but as 'subversive' of fantasy tropes. The former can be mocked using past examples that aren't actually that severely different from something like the Red Wedding. The latter uses the new buzzword though to claim to look at that old, bad storytelling and be able to claim its better, even if the only way that it is better is because of its rejection of the most basic, straightforward interpretation of a genre. You know: Like dark in 90s was just rejecting what was societally acceptable.

Does this all mean that dark media does not exist? That it as a tag is meaningless? Of course not. We use it in our lexicon for a reason. It is a useful tool for comparison or warning. Despite the overall optimistic tone, I would tell someone Crises Girlfriends is dark because it spends much of its time ruminating on the effects of depression and the fears it can instill in someone's mind. Others may disagree but I wouldn't want to call it just a regular romance because for some, these subjects are BRUTAL compared to what they expect out of a piece of romance media.

And there's a lot like that out there. Someone tells me that a story deals with really heavy, dark subject matter and I need to properly evaluate if I'm really in the right mental space to want to consume that rather than something that may go down a bit easier. If someone tells you they like the campier side of Batman, being able to say that Christopher Nolan's Batman movies generally trend towards the darker, moodier side of the character is useful to making sure someone is consuming what they have an interest in.

But just as darkness wouldn't exist without light to compare to, the dark genre cannot be something entirely on its own. Telling someone something is dark is meaningless without some amount of clarification. Is it dark because it includes gore? Is it dark because of sex? Is it dark because of properly addressing horrors of our reality or just because it has horrors of some variety? Is it dark for having a horrible ending or is the whole piece languishing in this mood?

Because again: Dark as a genre does not have specific traits. So next time you wish a piece was darker or you try to claim it's dark, please make sure you actually specify what you mean? Because otherwise, someone has to go by their own assumptions and they may look literally nothing like yours because the lighting in their brain is just a little different.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[egenvs3000f23]

Week 2 My role as an environmental interpreter

Describe your ideal role of environmental interpreter. What might it entail? Where might it be? What skills might you need? (Keep these all-in mind as you begin to work on your assignments – tailor these to that ideal job!)

Blog Response:

When I call it a day and am off to sleep, I think about the events, choices and attitudes of the day just passed. The most fulfilling days always involve time spent in the outdoors, having used my mind, my body, learned something new, and having had the opportunity to get to know or spend time with the people around me. I love speaking with others, learning their world views, and the differences and similarities between myself and the given person, or group of people. 

This being said, my ideal job, or role in an environmental interpretation position is one where I am outside, working as a discovery facilitator, and one where I am active throughout the day. It is a dream job of mine to work as a hiking guide or a bikepacking tour guide in a national park! I’m graduating this year and am applying to jobs with these roles involved in them! I am so nervous but cannot wait to see how things go! 

Based on my previous experience, as mentioned in the last post, I had the chance to work in a nature interpretation role with BC parks! It gave me a lot of insight into how differently people learn, and how what works really well for some people, makes no sense to others. Age is also a big factor, I was better at working with the adults at the interpretation events than kids. However I must say, that the enthusiasm of kids discovering and learning in the outdoors cannot be beat! It was really helpful, as noted in the readings, to build a sense of rapport between you and those being communicated with, it really makes people listen to what you say because they know where your credibility lies, and how it fits within theirs. It develops a sense of trust and friendship which can make learning what otherwise could be dry information, interesting, digestible and meaningful.

I need to do some more research on how to appeal to different learning styles, but I think it is hard to make plans without having a good understanding of the audience first. How one actually intends to play to different learning styles is very context specific. I suppose the solution, to this, and the best quality, most accessible nature interpretation is to always play to different learning styles and just be adaptable as the audience makes their ways known. There could be visual learners so always having maps, diagrams images, paper and pencils on hand could be good ideas. For those who tend towards kinesthetic learning, making sure there is a physical component to the information, a game, a hike, or bike while learning about different species for example. Understanding that there are active and reflexive listeners, sensing and intuitive listeners, sequential and global learners, and then just playing to the needs of individuals in the given group is I think the best way to go. This is something I’ve learned that I need to make sure to focus on when doing nature interpretation in the future.

I think that its worth mentioning that even if someone is a specific type of learner they still have much to gain from learning in other ways as well. There are simply some things that cannot be learned through one type of learning. One cannot learn how to ride a bike by drawing it out, the drawing could help demonstrate the information, but learning to ride a bike will always be a kinesthetic task.  I would expect that everyone has a different balance of the types of learning, but that everyone makes some use of them all at some point. This is a viewpoint I plan to take with me into any nature interpreting career. Always include all the learning styles, but don’t focus too hard to cater to one specific type while neglecting the others. Catering to the individuals, and crowd but still being realistic!

A fun aside (an app I really enjoy using myself):

An app that could be relevant to readers! i-naturalist is a great app for learning about species in the outdoors. You can upload a photo, make a guess as to what you think it is, and you then find out if you are correct on the app. It is also super fascinating because it catalogs and records all the sightings of species and keeps the data for science and the public to use!

Another gif! Go adventure in the outdoors!

[hebuiltfive]

Meanwhile, on Skybase...: Bulgaria

It's never a dull day at Spectrum, always another Mysteron scheme to unravel and prevent.

Words: 2,009 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: Dark themes, violence, mentions of injuries, implied mentions of suicide, heavy angst, blue and scarlet being bffs, cross between ocs and ncs, black is very machiavellian

Series: Part 2 of The Long Game

Notes: First of all, Happy Captain Scarlet Day! I have been waiting to post this part for so long now and I'm equal parts excited and nervous about it! Spectrum wanted to join the party, so Spectrum has now entered the chat. Note to say that whilst most of the characterisations and words/phrases used for this Spectrum are taken from NCS, I have taken some other attributes from the original series. I have Black's character from NCS but refer to the SPVs as just that (and not a rhino, ew). I'm giving it the best of both the worlds. This fic began life in a totally different way, the plot completely different to what it's now evolved into (isn't that always the case though?), but for once I'm happy with how it's all turned out. It's been long (the name does not lie) and complicated, but I'm hoping it will all be worth it. International Rescue will be back on the scene soon though, so if you're already missing those boys, fret not. Things have only just begun.

Read it below or on AO3 here.

Part 1: The Alaskan Train Crash Chapter 1 found here on Tumblr, or here on AO3. Chapter 2 found here on Tumblr, or here on AO3. Chapter 3 found here on Tumblr, or here on A03. Chapter 4 found here on Tumblr or here on AO3.

It was a fight to the death, no question about it.

The man in the scarlet uniform sparred with the man in the matching black.

Echoing throughout the empty harbour, the men grunted and groaned as every punch, kick and dodge met their intended target. Bruises were already blossoming on their skin, cuts having been made as they both, in turn, had skidded across the rough concrete of the harbour’s ground. It was of no consequence however, as both the men would heal fast, faster than the average man.

Another round of attacks began. The man in black sent the man in scarlet flying into a nearby brick wall. The air was knocked out of him and, for a moment, Captain Scarlet stayed on the floor, in a daze.

He was glad about the area being deserted. Whilst Burgas’s docks would soon become a hive of activity at dawn, for now the harbour consisted of only the two captains. Scarlet had thanked his lucky stars. The less civilian casualties, the better, he thought, not only because of the loss of life that would entail but because of the possibility of Black using those bodies against him; the last thing he needed was more replicants to fight. Captain Black, Spectrum agent-turned-Mysteron foe, was a formidable opponent on his own, though that was unsurprising given his history.

In those early days of Spectrum’s conception, Black had been the one to teach Scarlet almost everything he knew about combat. From their first meeting at Koala base, the two had become fast friends. Black had trained Scarlet, they had worked together and spent most of their downtime together. Best of friends, Paul had once described his relationship with Conrad.

But those days had long since passed. They were days that would never return. Conrad’s rash decision on Mars, and their subsequent Mysteronisation had put an end to whatever friendship the two once had. Scarlet had reconciled with that fact years ago; the man he had once considered a friend was gone. Conrad Lefkon was never coming back. Whilst he sometimes dreamt of his former friend managing to break free of the Mysteron’s control like he had miraculously done, Scarlet knew that it was just that: a dream. Not everyone would be as lucky as he had been in escaping their control. He doubted anyone would ever be as lucky again.

Black knew how Scarlet fought. He knew the tells, he knew the moves. They were practically evenly matched. The fact that they’d been at each other’s throats for the past half an hour was a testament to that. When Scarlet had managed to track Black down to that harbour, and they had started their brawl, the stars had still been twinkling in the midnight ink of the night sky. Now the faint oranges and pinks of dawn were beginning to shine over the horizon. Scarlet knew that soon the dockland workers would be arriving to start their daily grind. 

He had to end this.

And fast.

Black sauntered over to Scarlet, who was now back on his feet. Scarlet raised both his fists, ready for another tackle, but Black simply stood in front of him. His lips curved into a smirk that sent a shiver down Scarlet’s spine.

“When are you going to finally just give in, Paul?” Black asked tauntingly. 

Scarlet knew that Black wasn’t giving him time to catch his breath, but he used the opportunity to do so anyway. “Giving in isn’t always as easy an option as you may think. Conrad would have known that. Conrad would have fought.” 

But even though he said it with such conviction, the man standing in front of Scarlet was testimony to Conrad’s inability to fight. 

Black seemingly thought the same and laughed derisively. “Like the rest of this pathetic world, Conrad was weak. He gave up the fight, and soon you will too.”

Black lunged for him again, but Scarlet was quicker. He ducked under Black’s fist and staggered back into the centre of the harbour complex.

“The people of this world are not pathetic or weak.” Scarlet defended them as Black made for him again.

“Why do you spend so much time protecting them, Paul? These people are not your people anymore. You know that the people of this planet would all turn against you in an instant if they knew the truth. If they knew who you really were.”

Another swing of Black’s fist, but Scarlet once again dodged. He swiped his leg toward Black’s own, but Black jumped out of the way in time.

“What would you know about them?” Scarlet continued, noting Black’s contemptuous tone. “You may masquerade as a human, Black, but we both know you can no longer call yourself that.”

“The same could be said for yourself, old friend.”

Scarlet lunged forward at that. Black once again swerved his body out of the way of Scarlet’s anger-fuelled attempt of a punch. The momentum pulled Scarlet forward, more than he had anticipated. In his rage, he had misjudged the blow. Black stuck out one of his feet and his boots swept across Scarlet’s. Scarlet fell to the concrete before he could balance himself, landing on his shoulder with an almighty crunch. Another injury to add to the ever-growing list this morning.

“Did you think you’d be able to keep running away from what you truly are forever, Paul?” Black wasted no time and quickly straddled Scarlet to keep him from retuning to his feet. The shock of his busted shoulder meant that Scarlet was too slow. Unable to scramble away, Black easily gained the upper hand. 

“You are ours.” Black resumed, grabbing Scarlet’s fists before they could collide with his pale, worn face. “You always will be ours. It’s about time you come to terms with what you are. We made you. We own you. You will return to us.”

“I’m nothing like you!” Scarlet spat. He lifted his knee up to try and topple Black off him. He failed.

Black held him in place with a sickeningly tight grip. “Oh, but you are, Scarlet. You are more like me than you think. Soon you and everyone you love will get to see just how much.”

There was a grotesque smile curving on Black’s chapped lips, an underlying emerald glow to his otherwise pale skin. Scarlet continued to try and fight free, but Black’s hold was still too strong. It grew stronger by the second.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Scarlet never got his answer. Black’s knees found his torso, and beneath his bullet-proof scarlet vest, his ribs began to crack under the weight. Black’s fingers, already so vice-like, tightened around Scarlet’s wrists, crushing the bones underneath his skin. The blues and purples of a bruise had already begun to show beneath Black’s pale digits. Scarlet may have been virtually indestructible, but his body could still break under enough pressure. And he would still feel it all.

Black continued to torturously put a strain on Scarlet’s bones, but Scarlet wouldn’t give him the benefit of breaking so easily. Scarlet tapped into all he had learnt in Spectrum’s interrogation training. Remain composed, do not show any weakness to the enemy. So, just as Black held firm in his painfully tight grasp, Scarlet held firm in his resolve.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, with Black’s immensely inhuman power crushing his body with ease. Any normal man would have probably succumbed by now but Scarlet was no normal man. Not anymore.

Then Black stopped. 

Those dark eyes flashed green for a single second and Black stood, releasing his former friend from the bone shattering grip.

Scarlet, confused, blinked through the remnants of pain and then began to try and scramble to his feet.

“Don’t bother getting up.” Black commanded.

Despite the pain in his dislocated shoulder, the aches radiating from his broken wrists and crushed ribs, it wasn’t actually the discomfort of moving that stopped Scarlet from getting up. His body no longer felt like it was his own, and the lungs beneath Paul’s cracked ribs felt like they were being deflated. Breathing became difficult. Scarlet, having been halfway to his feet when Black had given the command, kneeled on one knee in front of him. It looked as though he was bowing to his enemy. He remained as still as a statue, but not by choice. 

Black was somehow in his mind.

“What… are you playing at… Conrad?” Scarlet could barely get his words out. 

“You’ll find out soon enough, old friend.” Black spoke without an ounce of sincerity in his tone. His use of the term ‘friend’ was obviously meant to provoke Scarlet. Given the angry flare in Scarlet’s eyes, Black was satisfied it had worked. 

“Oh, and thanks for the sport. You know, I’ve missed our hand-to-hand combat sessions.”

If Scarlet didn’t know better, it could have been Conrad speaking to him. But the flare of green that still emanated from Black’s eyes told him the Mysteron was still very much in control. He began to move backwards, a step at a time.

“Well, it certainly was fun keeping you busy, but playtime is over now. I’ve got to get back to the matters at hand.”

“Matters? What… matters? What are… you talking about…?”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you and I will see each other again quite soon, Scarlet."

Scarlet blinked and Black had vanished, quite literally, into thin air. 

Damn it! 

An aura of green light remained for a fraction of a second before it disappeared too. Despite being mad at Black’s vanishing act, Scarlet was finally able to regain control of his body again. Shakily, he stood.

He staggered slowly forward a few feet and bent woozily to retrieve his fallen cap. Scarlet winced as the movement cause his shoulder pain. He needed a lie down, if only to give his body time to recuperate from the injuries. He was certain Doctor Gold was going to have him in the infirmary for the rest of the day and that thought alone made his mood sour.

Scarlet dusted down his cap and placed it back onto his head. Then, a microphone flipped down from the visor. “Scarlet calling Skybase.”

“Thank heavens, Scarlet! We were starting to get worried. Did you catch him?”

“Negative, Colonel. Black escaped.” Again, he didn’t need to add. This cat-and-mouse game was starting to becoming a very nasty, very exhausting habit.

“Did you at least find out why he was in the dreary backwaters of Bulgaria?”

That was another negative. Scarlet shook his head, despite knowing Colonel White wouldn’t see him, but he knew he couldn’t deliver more bad news essentially over the phone. His gut told him there was more to the story anyway. Perhaps it was something they could all piece together back at HQ. Besides, with all the pain, Scarlet found it difficult to process his thoughts. “I’m on my way back to Skybase. Could you get Gold to prepare the infirmary, sir?”

“How bad is it?”

“Just a few cracked ribs. I’ve survived much worse.” Scarlet’s tone was laced with humour but the smile he made didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“Report to the command centre when you’re fixed up, Captain.”

“S.I.G, sir. Scarlet out.” 

The microphone flipped back up into its original position in the visor.

Scarlet sighed. He regretted it the moment he did as a sharp pain went stinging through his ribs. Yes, he was definitely in need of a good rest.

The docks were still barren, save for the few tanker ships that sat lonely in the harbour. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon now. Hands with bloody knuckles that almost matched his scarlet uniform were gently placed on his hips. Scarlet winced and took in the sight before him. His mind was racing.

“What are you up to this time, Conrad?” He muttered to himself. “What game are you trying to play?”

[misscaptainbear]

Emulation

I've been thinking about emulators a lot recently, since getting a retro-handheld and emulating a bunch of games. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and I've been inspired in various ways - I'd love to put together a project that integrates a lot more game improvements into an emulator. Here's some of those concepts:

(Pictured above, Phantasy Star 1 for the Nintendo Switch, showing emulated game and extras like maps and character healths)

(1) Extra-Textual Information

I've seen a few emulators dabble in this with varying degrees, and I always find it a treat. Some things, like providing things like maps or quests that the original game didn't track for the player (due to tech limitations) or more narrative-contextual things like character portraits or illustrations from the manuals. Shout out to the WanderBar plugins developed by Legends of Localization author, Clyde Mandelin.

(Pictured above, Seiken Densetsu/Final Fantasy Adventure showing emulated game and extras like enemy stats or item descriptions and illustrations from the manual)

Additions like this are important for many different reasons; more approachability to a wider audience (Truncated text like LIT3 from Final Fantasy 1 spring to mind), a richer more 'fulfilled' version of the game the artists and designers intended but couldn't represent, and accessibility features that allow differently abled people to enjoy games in an era that frankly didn't make much of an effort.

And, integration with existing walkthroughs wouldn't go awry, since older games sometimes require esoteric requirements to progress that are simply unreasonable to ask in the more modern era of game design. (Though opting in to these systems would be a necessity)

(Pictured above, a screenshot of an Ascii rendering of the title of The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, from GameFaqs. Ascii you can trust!)

Honestly, I could go on and on. Things from concept art to advertisements to additional media like the Link to the Past Comic would give a more fulsome and authentic experience.

(2) Modding and User Generated Content

Really, the above are only possible via community efforts, obsessively collecting data. Thus, the ideal system for this to work within is one that in open source and has robust and well-documented modding tools.

Having used Mesen and Project64 to mess with graphics and textures, this is really powerful, but also feels like a half-measure at times, as it's still restrained within the graphics capability of those systems, and often simply a 'resolution' slider.

(Pictured above, an unfinished Final Fantasy Mod replacing graphical assets with concept illustrations from Yoshitako Amano)

One thing that springs to mind is the implementation of the Diablo 2 Remaster; The developers spoke about essentially having an "API" to reach the important parts of the game's original implementation to then add extra (visual) information on top of. Things like 'player facing direction' can be added on to in order to rotate the rendered model and slerp it smoothly between those angles, something not possible in the original implementations.

Thus, the core of the game is preserved, with only the presentation changing.

This is mentioned for it's structure, obviously there's tons of labor that goes into these graphical assets that just aren't possible for a layman to create a games' worth.

(Pictured above, a comparison of screenshots of Diablo 2 and Diablo 2 Remastered demonstrating the rendering-level improvements)

(3) Creativity and Freedom

The two above points really imply this third one, which is a more collective ownership by the community. Something that a system like this would unlock is the ability to remix and remaster a game in a way that could be anything - respectful to the original intent, or a wild re-imagining of what the game might look like directed by you.

(Pictured above, the Boss Room from Legend of Zelda redrawn with a much higher fidelity pixel art)

(Credit to Zaebucca, apologies for reposting art without reblogging it properly. Link)

(Pictured above, a Dragon Boss Fight from Golden Sun redrawn as higher quality digital art)

(Credit to Sabbitabbi, apologies for reposting art without reblogging it properly. Link)

This sort of preservation-through-community is wildly important in an era of games that have been all but abandoned by their developers (if the studios in question still exist, even) and games that are profound in shaping the genres of their era are fading away; Something that the youtuber Nerrel has touched on in various videos of his.

(4) Actually Making the Damn Thing

There have been some previous work on things like this that I really admire, but haven't really seen (or weren't built for) widespread popularity in the larger gaming sphere.

(Pictured above, the dragon boss from Legend of Zelda, projected oddly into a 3D scene with a sword being thrown sideways at it)

One well meaning but obviously comedic attempt was done by Tom7 (Suckerpinch) on youtube, where an automatic system was programmed to 'convert' NES games to 3D. It's an interesting experiment but honestly proves to me that any automatic or AI assisted route is futile; that this would have to be hand tuned or developed.

A similar attempt to the above is the steam released 3dSen, which is really impressive but has similar pitfalls to other emulators described above - by systematizing the rendering, it imposes strange and unintuitive requirements on graphics that simply don't have to be constrained that way. This is caused by the automatic nature of the game (see water tiles below)

(Pictured above, 3DSen screenshot showing graphical problems when rendering water tiles)

So what the heck does the ideal system look like for this sort of thing?

The biggest parts of those (and I'm omitting a bunch of things, obviously) would be an emulator core with game-specific knowledge built in that's available to a scripting layer. The scripting layer in turn would interact with this and where appropriate interrupt the emulator's rendering to inject models, sounds, menus, etc.

The original game rom would not be distributed in any way, but could easily be md5 checked and verified for correct behaviour with the API. The Data Packs would ideally be a solid file (probably just a renamed zip lol) so they could be easily distributed and 'opened' by the emulator, instead of having to do tedious mod installation.

Within the data packs would be some sort of scripting initialization hooks and file organization such that resources are appropriately loaded and fed to the rendering system as needed.

Now, as for when I actually start working on this...? Whew, we'll see. But I'm hoping this resonates with some folks out there!

[jackjonesuk309]

Commercial Vehicle Wrapping: Questions To Ask Any Specialist

Whether you’re looking for large-scale commercial vehicle wrapping services for fleet branding or wish to wrap a company van or car, there are a few questions we’d always recommend you ask to ensure your wrapping specialist will produce a professional result.

Vehicle wraps can make your whole vehicle stand out, provide amazing brand exposure as a marketing tool, and be a cost effective way to market your company to an exponential audience – but quality, precision and design are all-important.

Every business has a budget to stick to, so it’s worth evaluating wrap quotes and comparing the experience of your local commercial vehicle wrap providers, so you feel 100% confident you’ve got all the information you need!

1. Is Vinyl Wrap the Right Option for Commercial Vehicle Wrapping?

While vinyl wrap is often the fastest, most efficient, and most affordable way to transform the appearance of any vehicle, it’s also a great idea to check in with your installer and see if they’re happy to provide independent advice.

There are some scenarios where we might suggest an alternative, such as

Where the vehicle has a large amount of rust that will stop the vinyl from adhering correctly.

Where your vehicle wrap has a small design area – we might recommend a partial wrap just for that part of the bodywork to avoid spending more than necessary.

You’ll also find a broad range of vinyl brands suited for commercial vehicle wraps, so if the design is brand promotional and intended for short-term use, we can offer lower-cost vinyl brands ideal for temporary applications.

2. Can You Help With the Vehicle Wrap Design?

For most businesses (aside from those in the graphic design sector), the brand design process is the trickiest element because there are countless textures, colours, finishes and layouts to choose between.

An in-house vehicle wrap custom design team is the best possible option because you have the opportunity to chat about your ideas and branding and explain the impact you want to achieve through your vehicle livery.

Vehicle wrapping templates can be convenient if your vehicle or fleet is of a standard size. Still, a tailored design service may be preferable if you need a more custom wrap. Looking through previous examples can help narrow your specification and give a designer input to create something special for maximum impact.

There are some golden rules to vehicle wrapping design, which a capable designer will explain, such as using fonts above a particular size and steering clear of elaborate text or certain colour combinations that are very hard to read in a moving vehicle.

In some wrapping projects, a client simply changes their mind or sees something compelling they want to replicate. If you have a design team to hand, they can incorporate those adjustments quickly without the added time and cost of outsourcing to a third party.

3. Can You Show Me Past Vehicle Wrap Projects and Customers Feedback?

We briefly mentioned past wrapping projects – and this is one of the most valuable questions, enquiring whether a wrap specialist has the expertise to provide you with an outstanding finished appearance.

Any reputable wrapping team will be proud to showcase their design graphics and application skills or provide a gallery of wraps on vehicles of a similar size to give you an idea about what is possible and how different branding designs work.

It’s also important to check customer reviews and testimonials to ensure you’re getting the full picture. You could have a look at the following:

Published testimonials – although these tend to exclude anything negative!

Google reviews

Social media ratings

Feedback on independent forums, such as Trustpilot

Impartial reviews can provide insights into how previous customers have felt about their experience. They’ll also let you know whether clients have found their wrap starts to bubble or fade very quickly, which could indicate a substandard installation process.

4. Do Your Vehicle Wrapping Services Come With a Warranty?

Most vinyl wraps come with a warranty, with manufacturers of the top brands providing guarantees about how long commercial vehicle wrapping should last.

However, this may not be sufficient if the vinyl itself is excellent but has been incorrectly fitted. Installer warranties can be a safeguard if something goes wrong and gives you the peace of mind that you can have any vehicle wrapping issues fixed promptly without additional cost.

Professional fleet wrappers can also suggest finishes such as a ceramic coating to protect your wrap, highly effective for vehicles that cover a lot of mileage and need extra protection from grit, sand, and oil from the road.

5. What Is the Best Way to Look After My Vehicle Wraps?

A little general maintenance will keep your vehicle wrap fresh, bright, and bold. Any installer should offer advice on how to clean the wrap and avoid damage.

As a quick guide, here are some of the tips your installer should cover:

Use a good quality vehicle shampoo, but pick a brand with a low ph.

Be careful about powerful jet washing, as very high-intensity jets can cause peeling.

Try not to use automatic car washes, as the bristles might be abrasive.

Don’t use wax polishes – they won’t make the wrap shine brighter and can cause fading.

Clean any fuel or oil away from the wrap quickly to avoid corrosion or damage to the colour.

Your vehicle wrapping expert might offer a regular cleaning service, but for most vehicles, a simple clean now and then is more than sufficient to stop oil and grime from building up.

A good wraps installer will want to pre-empt the likelihood of any damage but can always remove and replace it with a fresh layer if you end up with a deep dent in the bodywork.

6. How Much Will the Work Cost, and How Long Will it Take?

Commercial vehicle owners often choose vinyl wrap as it takes a fraction of the time and cost of a respray – but make sure you have a written quotation and a clear indication of the time frames before you drop your vehicle off.

Working through these questions with a reputable commercial vehicle wrapping specialist will give you a solid idea about the service you can expect and ensure you choose a high-quality vehicle wrapping company that will offer the benefit of their expertise in picking a wrap, selecting a design, and taking care of your fleet for the long term.

Original Source - https://www.wrapuk.com/commercial-vehicle-wrapping-questions-to-ask/

[sehyix]

June 16, 2022

You call me while my partner and I are hand in hand, walking leisurely through Disney’s California Adventure theme park. We are observing how the park has changed over the past four years since our last visit when I nervously look around and pick up your call. “Hi Ba-!” I affectionately speak into the receiver, cutting myself off from speaking your name and drawing attention to the fact that it’s You who is calling. Flashes of what it originally looked like fill my vision as your voice warms my ear and you question what we are up to. Instead of the old shops at the pier filled with knick-knacks and branded souvenirs, there are new ones filled with luxury brands. For a moment, I feel like they poured all their resources into making this appear like an actual seaside barge and will use it in the next POTC movie. (Even if YSL and LV isn't what pirates would be stealing in the 1800s, but you never know).

I am eyeing the different stores to my right as I listen to you reply to the things I have told you they have changed. You too, wouldn’t recognize it anymore since your last visit, so I go into a bit of detail describing the place. I mention how they have luxury brand boutiques now that replaced the branded shops. You remind me to buy whatever I want, that it’s on you, and I scoff reflexively. I must have pouted a bit into my voice because I probably complained about the cost of something absentmindedly to you. I know better than to do that.

“Well, they are going to be charging us for the annual passes but it costs so much now, so we aren’t sure we are getting them,” I reply honestly. Back in my day, it cost half of what it costs now, and in this economy, that’s just plain criminal. I stop at a display of expensive key chains and pause to feel a key chain delicately with my fingers when I sense that I am being watched over my shoulder. My thumb pads over the gold YSL emblem affixed to the black leather and I turn the price tag over. The keychain in question costs the same, if not more, than a month’s worth of gas for our SUV and I know that I personally can not afford it. I stop mid-sentence to check my surroundings and confirm that yes, I am being watched by the shop owner in case I decided to pocket it. Clearly, she feels, I cannot afford this either. If anything, being stereotyped for the color of my skin is making me want to do anything but buy from this place.  

Your rich and beautiful laughter fills my ears in response and my entire body warms up even as I freeze affixed to the spot. I can still feel the flutters in my body as I felt myself lifted a few inches off the ground by it. You’re going to kill me at this rate. I nervously look around to make sure that no one has heard your distinct and iconic laugh through the receiver. We agreed between the three of us that you would be kept a secret and I intend to keep it that way. The woman staring at me in the shop is making her way a little closer to me now. She must think you’re instructing me on how to steal this overpriced piece of leather. 

“Why do you keep insisting this is an issue?” you whine at me even though your voice is still rich with laughter, “buy yourself whatever you want babe.” I’m walking away from the shop now, because this is an argument I want to have without an audience. I reprimand you for trying to spoil me so much and mumble something about, “the money will run out one day at this rate.” You already knew I would say this though, because you’re groaning and cutting me off. “You think I can’t keep working or something?! I’m still young! You underestimate what millions actually look like babe.” Internally, I feel like you’re going to cause me a rage-induced stroke as you continue. “I don’t care if those vendors don’t think you can afford it, you can because I’m paying for it. Now go on and make sure you two have fun. I love you.” 

The line clicks as my alarm goes off and wakes me again. That’s the first time you say those words to me in a dream and they are marvelous.

[fireglyphz]

ECLIPSE LAKE SPOILERS!!!

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WOW WHAT THE FUCK

I am so weirdly interested now that the clone theory is taking off because I considered it in the past but it was more of a crack theory than anything without much to go off off, for me anyway CLONE HIGH HUNTER WHEN

I thought I would chip in my own thoughts after seeing this observation made by @matchamangotea and it confirms my exact thoughts!

anyway!!! it does looks like the ingredients Belos needed in the book was to literally build Hunter, with specific attention to his eye color and nose; it doesn't exactly confirm whether this is Belos recording his results or keeping notes of what he needs from Hunter (or both), but we know it has some connection to Belos given that he keeps it on his person. In the context of having it with him among his other supplies for the portal door, it's possible he's also using his notes to keeps tabs between Hunter's role and the day of unity.

the most immediate connection for me would be the Palistrom wood because right next to it in parentheses is "Keratin", which is normally found in fingernails and hair. From that, we can understand that these ingredients are being used as close substitutes for real organs. some of the ingredients - the galdorstone, stonesleeper's lungs and palistrom wood - are also seen on the left page which lends credibility to this theory.

so according to the book, we have an idea of what mishmash Hunter is made of: Galderstone (heart & power/bile sack), Palistrom wood (hair and fingernails), Stonesleeper lungs, selkidomus scales (skin???) and interestingly the Bone of ORTET, where an ortet is "the original plant from which clone plants are produced".

(the galdorstone was introduced as a relic used for boosting powers, but not necessarily acting as a power source; if Belos intended to use the galdorstone to substitute a witch’s heart & bile sack, I personally think this is why he flubbed that one because he failed to consider that the galderstone does not generate power on its own. This could be why Hunter claims not to have natural magic because the organ he needs to generate it can only be used as a magic booster, when he cannot generate magic on his own without a sufficient organ to do so)

However, these only perform the main functions of the body, and it would be too much to assume Belos would go through all the trouble of finding special ingredients for every single organ unless the process is meticulous enough for it, and this does not look like a recipe for a glorified abomination. At the very least, these pages outline the ingredients and growth stages and as matchamangotea pointed out, there is a checkmark on one of the growth stages to show Hunter is finished his childhood while Belos was monitoring his growth. It doesn’t stop there though; we can assume Hunter is currently at his adolescent stage at the moment since Belos hasn’t checked it off yet, but there is another sketch that is used to outline Hunter’s eyes if that has any significance in the future...

So from here, Belos would probably have to put in a placeholder like human blood to take care of the rest biologically - so this means that having a high concentration of human blood could also owe to Hunter's physiology rather than a weak lineage or the case of having a human ancestor (sort of). but if this were the case, what's the reason behind Hunter's eyes being a different color despite being a clone, if not to direct the audience's attention to the book? could it be a side effect of the ingredients, or maybe Belos recording more information about Hunter? or is it one of the things Belos needs to keep tabs on for the Day of Unity if this has to do with Hunter's purpose?

Alternatively, there is also a mystery substance in the top left corner of Hunter’s page, which happen to have the same colours as the markings on Belos’ face; I am not sure whether this was what Belos used in place of or in addition to Human blood to fill in the gaps, but considering it also seems to be directly attributed to Belos’ “curse” it has an unknown use at the moment. (EDIT: it could be possible that Belos attempted to mix these ingredients together in the past but only managed to get the mystery goo, so maybe he’s using Hunter to cultivate it for an unknown purpose? Whatever the reason, it’s on Hunter’s page for something even if we don’t know what at the moment)

how does this stack up to Belos' habit of withholding information, careful phrasing and possibly outright lying to Hunter? Hunter mentioned to Luz that "a lot of his ancestors were [powerless witches]", but if he were cloned he would have no way of knowing this unless this is the story he was brought up on, and he would also have no way of confirming it due to having no other "relatives". knowing Belos, this is probably his shady way of saying "you were cloned from me so you technically come from a line of powerless witches" in a half-truth kind of way. Hunter also mentions Belos found him, took him and and gave him a staff, which I see this as Belos raising him on the mindset of proving his worth as compensation which is just fucking messed up ok

and on that note!!! look at Belos' ears! they are far smaller and rounded similar to Luz, albeit a little bit pointed, which is interesting because along with the eyes, Hunter's ears bear little resemblance to Belos' because they are shaped like a regular witch's ears save for the exact same nick.

and while we could credit it to Belos having the same identity as Philip Wittebane, mostly because we don't have a ton of information about Philip nor Belos' backgrounds at the moment to make a solid confirmation, it could also be possible that Belos is a direct descendent of Philip rather than Hunter? in theory, we don't actually know what a witch with human blood would look like, and what differences it would lend to in terms of appearances, so I'd like to think it's not completely out of the question yet.

Also, if Belos were Philip, I think the first place he would look to for resources on building the portal door would be his own diary, considering the amount of control he has over the public and I doubt the library would be an exception of this. it's very complicated at the moment, considering he knew how the door could be used when he took it from Luz in season 1, but at the same time he chose to build his own portal door from the pieces instead of making another copy. it could just be that the resources used for the original door are less abundant now than when it was first built, but if he were Philip's descendant I figure he would have at least some knowledge of the door, and possibly used it, but not know everything.

These are all my personal opinions though! They can easily be disproved in later episodes, or could be disregarded completely, but I thought I’d like to share my thoughts. I also noticed Hunter’s magic(?) when fighting Amity was yellow and i only noticed when I rewatched that scene and I thought it was cool.

TLDR: I think belos made a modded clone of himself (Hunter) using other ingredients that we might be provided more information on in the future, Belos is more fucked up than he looks imo, and I have some doubts about the Philip-Belos theory.

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at National Bowl in Milton Keynes, UK - June 5, 1982 (Part-1)

(x)

It was originally intended for the band to play this concert at Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, but it was moved to Milton Keynes for the same reason the Leeds show wasn't played at the famed Old Trafford. It's also worth noting that the band wanted to play at London's famous Royal Albert Hall as well, but the plan was never orchestrated as there was much fear that the weight of Queen's lighting rig would make the ceiling cave in. An early tour itinerary listed two London shows (June 4 and 5) on the agenda. The Teardrop Explodes were among the bands (the same line-up as last week in Leeds) who opened for Queen at this show. Their guitarist, Julian Cope, stood before about 40 thousand Queen fans and introduced the next song as being probably the best song they had ever heard, prompting someone near the stage to throw a toilet seat at him, which missed (people are known to bring cameras and certain substances to concerts, but toilet seats?). Lemonade bottles were then thrown at the guitarist which he tossed back into the audience. The complete Queen concert was filmed. A shortened video was shown on UK TV on a show called "The Tube" in January 1983 (omitting Action This Day, the bit of Las Palabras de Amor, Back Chat, Get Down Make Love, part of the guitar solo, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites The Dust, and Sheer Heart Attack), and on MTV in the US in August 1983 (the latter was a simulcast, with the audio being broadcast on FM radio in stereo, on the west coast, at least). The video was edited by Gavin Taylor, who was later invited by the band to direct the now famous video at Wembley Stadium in 1986. An even shorter version (about 50 minutes long) of the Milton Keynes video was shown on UK TV in 2001 (and many times since). Both the Milton Keynes and Wembley shows would eventually be released on DVD uncut. The 2004 official release of this show (both on CD and DVD) is called "Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl". The DVD is a beautiful document of Queen's show at the time, packed full of classic Queen moments. There are also extras from 1982 shows in Vienna and Tokyo. After a great version of Play The Game, Freddie essentially apologizes to the audience for much of the latest album's content: "Now most of you know that we've got some new songs out in the last week. For what it's worth we're gonna do a few songs in the funk/black category, whatever you call it. That doesn't mean we've lost our rock and roll feel, okay? I mean it's only a bloody record. People get so excited about these things! We just wanna try out a few songs. This is Staying Power." For some reason part of the speech was removed for the CD release of "Live At The Bowl." Without a doubt this is his definitive live delivery of the song, pulling off all of the stops. Mercury is at his peak tonight. Somebody To Love has been a vocal adventure of Freddie's for the past couple years. His intro is different every night, as is his solo spot towards the end. The version captured here on film is surely one of his best. Before launching into the familiar piano theme, he asks the audience in a moment for the ages, "Are you ready?" And in excitement, "Huh? Are you ready brothers and sisters?" Part way through his vocal exchange with the audience in Now I'm Here, Freddie says, "C'mon, we're gonna make you sing like Aretha Franklin." At the end of the successful duel, he jokingly says, "Right, you can join the band!" The r&b influence is never more evident than it is here, and it makes for a classic version of the song. Brian breaks a string just before his guitar solo in Dragon Attack. While he switches to a Red Special copy, John Deacon gets to play the bass solo as it's heard on the record - the one and only time he has the chance to do it. It's on the fly, and he nails it note for note. "Las Palabras de Amor" was released as a single a few days ago, and Brian plays a small bit of it on his 12-string acoustic before Love Of My Life. He then mentions how the band won't be playing their "song of peace" tonight, as he calls it. This remains the only show where the Hot Space ballad would be referenced. Brian's guitar briefly cuts out during his solo spot, a moment that was edited out of the 1983 TV broadcasts (and slightly edited on the CD release) but seen uncut on the DVD. Brian's guitar tech is seen rushing on and off stage within seconds, having quickly resolved the issue (it was likely a sticky pickup switch). About half way through Sheer Heart Attack, Brian sneaks in the riff from I Go Crazy an octave up, and much faster, to match the tempo of the energetic News Of The World rocker. The song would be dropped from the set after this show, only to emerge again late in the pending North American tour. This would be Morgan Fisher's last show with the band as the touring keyboardist. A number of theories abound about his departure, including butting heads with Mercury's personal manager Paul Prenter or his apparent fear of flying, but it was simply a case of him moving on to other gigs (Fisher confirmed in a 2009 interview that he has never been afraid of airplanes). The CD and DVD releases would be patched up a bit, most notably in the third verse of Fat Bottomed Girls where Freddie's voice cracked badly on "locality," as well as for "now I'm here, now I'm there." Roger's timing with the guitar delays at the end of May's solo spot was bit off at the show, but this is fixed up as well. The sound quality as a whole is much better than the broadcasts, but there are a couple differences in the mix - some of Brian's backing vocals (particularly at the end of Somebody To Love) can be clearly heard in the broadcast mix but were brought down for the official releases, and compression has been added to Roger's snare drum, giving it a much fatter sound compared to Queen Rock Montreal. Brian May and Roger Taylor are interviewed before the show, as shown on the Bowl DVD and the original TV broadcasts. Brian reveals that he really enjoys playing Play The Game. He explains, "You've done your leaping about, and you've made your statement on your entry. And then you can settle down and start really playing something." Roger says his current favourite is Under Pressure. On the day before this show Freddie's boyfriend at the time had bitten him between his thumb and forefinger during a fight, causing it to bleed profusely and require stitches. On the DVD, Freddie is seen tossing the bandage around just before coming on stage. The sixth picture was submitted by Fabio Minero, and the eighth is from Alessio Rizzitelli. The second set was taken by Brenski.

(x)

Fan Stories

“At the time, I was living on the Mull Of Kintyre on the West coast of Scotland. I remember being elated at getting tickets for the last gig of the UK tour. I always tried to get 'last night' tickets, because the band were famous for always going a little more 'over the top' on each of their tour's final nights. So, we drove down from Scotland, which took an eternity with fuel and meal stops, and stayed at the in-law's on the south coast of England. The next day we set for the 'new-town' of Milton Keynes, about 100 miles or so, away. We got there quite early before the gates opened and the weather was unsettled, lightly raining for about five minutes nearly every other hour. The support bands for the day were 'Teardrop Explodes', who had a fairly big hit with a song called 'Reward'. I quite liked Julian Cope and his band, but this WAS a rock gig, and the audience weren't generally as receptive to this brass backed 'new romantic' style of music. The customary sea of lemonade bottles headed towards the stage ensued. Now it was over twenty years ago, and the memory starts to fade a bit after a while, so I'm not sure whether 'Heart' were next on, or 'Joan Jett and the Blackhearts'. Either way, both bands played well, and were most enjoyable. Joan Jett had recently had a very big hit with 'I Love Rock'n'Roll' (very recently covered by Britney Spears), and the crowd loved that one. This was prior to 'Heart' having a major hit in the UK, but they were at that time an established and well known band. Looking at the stage, there were these items that looked like little vehicles hanging from the gantry, we later found out that these were individual self contained lighting platforms with a guy sat in each directing three spotlights wherever they were required to do so. The Queen set itself started with an extended backing tape from the intro of Flash Gordon. Most of you will have seen the video of this gig, so I won't labour on about what they played too much. Only that the crowd, as a whole, weren't into the 'Hot Space' numbers that much. Personally, I was watching my favourite band, so I didn't really care what they played, as long as it was theirs. The bits cut out of the video, included an intro to 'Las Palabras De Amor' from Brian, (just before 'Love Of My Life'), though they never actually played the whole song, Brian announced that they were not doing their song of peace tonight. Brian's two-day guitar solo was edited out, as was 'Fat Bottomed Girls', the intro harmonies on this did come across as pretty iffy, and of all songs, they also edited out 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', much to my disappointment, as I'd heckled Freddie about his ability as a guitarist, and 'stone me', he only went and answered me. Knebworth '86 was a much better show, but I know I'm lucky enough to have had the honour to be able to compare them.”  - Steve_C/Kes

Part-2

Part-3

[buzzykrueger]

The moment when Gon’s priorities start to change - ch. 64 and 65

While working in my meta of the separation scene (which will take some time still, sorry), I came across these chapters again: 64 and 65. Two of my favorite. As a linguistic and literature student, I’m always trying to catch hints in Togashi’s writing - we know he carefully thinks about each word used. Have a good read and keep in mind is just a thought -  and the dialogues and panels chosen to be showed in here are meaningful. This is not a deep research with theory references, but just some of the various examples of how artistic and textual strategies work in Hunter x Hunter, that they are not random and how even the slightest changing of words and switching perspectives can impact the story in order to provoke a reaction, meaning something to the audience, leading us to a way. 

Anyways.

The boys had just finished the Heaven’s Arena, with tons of hints of how they would bond more and more, for example, Killua wanting to evolve with Gon in the same pace regarding both the Floors and the Nen training. The scene where Killua and Gon are meditating together, Killua getting more protective of Gon, as they soon become a pair. 

They take a short well deserved break: it’s time to visit Whale Island. After all, Gon came to Kukuroo Mountain, and Killua wants to recollect what is home to Gon, too. Fair enough, it’s how I understand he’s self-inviting. 

When they arrive. we are introduced to the fact that Gon, someone who deeply cares about his family, hasn’t called once since he passed the Exam. Of course, he got extremely focused on rescuing Killua and then training with him in the Arena, getting distracted. Not that he doesn’t care about Mito or anything, but he’s found something that kept his focus real heard. And Mito imagines what it is. 

Their dialogue and her glance right after that hint why she can’t even be angry at Gon - because she’s not looking at him, only. Every time it would make sense to show only Gon but we get to see Killua by his side, too, is a visual message to the readers. Mito could’ve only looked at Gon, ‘cause she just met Killua and he’s not related to her. But she observes the meaning of his presence, even if Gon does not say it.

The star gazing scene, one of the most important in the story and something we are very familiar with so, sorry to bring it up again - I know you all must be tired of seeing the same panels (but I adore it and I will keep using it). It starts with scenery that are important memories of Gon’s life when he was alone, now bringing a new meaning to them, someone to share with: Killua.

When Killua approached Gon’s plans from now on, and after getting his answer, he questions what he should do. Gon says that he should come with him. 

And here is another example how a simple choice of words - not only the words itself, but the timing when they’re said and the position, the “breath” between then, or even their absence - can mean so much as fantastic and complex storytelling strategies. Because Gon only gets to know that Killua, actually, doesn’t have any plan AFTER he asks him to join. He’s not asking because Killua don’t have it - he didn’t know that before he asked - but because he wants him to stick together. This is why it’s important that this request was said and showed before Killua elaborates on his feelings, so we can know that it’s not because “since you have nothing to do”. And fun fact: Killua is the only friend that Gon actually insists to not leave. The chapter when Kurapika and Leorio head to their goals, Gon just said “oh, already? - okay, see you/good luck/something like that”, with a honest smile. And I know Gon says “see you around” to Killua at the separation scene, but it’s also the first time he's shown unsatisfied with this decision, not smiling at all, implying he’s not okay.

Continuing, its Gon putting Killua in a place that no other belongs. It’s a re-signification of Killua, Gon’s favorite places, his home and their future - everything starts to change and take form to the audience. 

To Gon, it’s about sticking together because they like hanging out. This is the main reason for his request, since it’s the first thing he says about it - and further he adds their individual reasons, to be more convincing, but the core is what it is.

As we know, Mito overheard everything, specially the moment when they start to compliment her and Gon says she is his real mother. Then, later, we have chapter 65, now a re-signification of Gon’s relationship with Ging and Mito.

After accidentally hearing his words, we can interpret that she’s not that insecure anymore about losing Gon to his new found career. It was bittersweet when Gon left, after all “he is indeed his son”. But she realizes he’s different from Ging - he comes back, he values her, he could be in search of something he doesn’t have like news from his biological mom but instead, he chooses to embrace what he does have. Gon can’t even imagine how impactful his reassuring words were, and it’s also a opportunity for Mito to let out the resent on Ging and the Hunters, giving place to finally trust Gon. 

And she tells him what the absence of Ging means to her. How she got hurt, but still wanted to have him around. And that’s when Gon takes Ging out of his place in his heart: it’s time to put him in his true place and make space for those who stay: Mito and Killua. 

We don’t need to give titles and special places to those who are undeserved of it and should just perform a specific role in our lives as we let them. Mito herself craved for Ging’s attention, always running after him, seeing him only by his back, hiding/missing just for him to come to her aid. Gon realizes that it’s what he’s doing - he does not have someone to call a father, because Ging never make up to this title. He downgrades Ging to the same person Mito knew.

And now, even if he still feels the urge to prove Ging he’s not weak and undeserved of attention, company and worth, he definitely is not the same person and does not want to be. Ging is not the “dad who I want to follow the same steps” anymore. And then, we go back to Killua:

 “But Bea, what does this have to do with Killua? We’re only seeing Mito and Gon there!” Actually not! We’re seeing Killua too, but not physically. We get to connect Killua to this scene by a simple line Gon said one chapter before, about Killua’s meaning to his life:

To Gon, it’s enough just to know this answer. Why? This line is VERY specific, literally the same thing he said to Killua in the previous chapter. He chose to bring it to table. It’s a soft - and literary - way to say his priority changed and to connect Killua to his objective. He reclaims Mito as his real mother, downgrades Ging AND shows what it comes first at his mind now - wanting to know if Ging had the same thing he has with Killua, stating his friend’s importance. “Look, Ging, how far I got. Who I took with me. Did you have this?” 

And this could easily be sided with the end of Greed Island, when Gon says the first thing he’ll do when finding Ging is to introduce Killua. ‘Cause in his main goal now, the first things that come up to his mind aren’t being just like Ging and reunite with him anymore - it’s the “friend around my age”, it’s “Killua” and everything that refers to him. It changed. Gon was behind something he didn’t have, his father presence and some pride, and comes back with something even better he didn’t have either: a true friendship, who wants to be there and assure his worth. 

And for me, that is the reason Togashi ends Mito and Gon’s conversation with a specific panel, not of them, not with a picture of Ging, not with the sky only... but with this:

Killua. A person not mentioned in their dialogue directly, and someone who’s not family and isn’t in the same room as them. But that is there, respecting his privacy with Mito. This is there for us to catch. It’s not a direct exchange between Gon and Killua, they’ll still do it in their way, because its meant for us: when two characters are not showed together in the same situation/moment, but are referred directly or indirectly, it’s a writing choice that means “it’s for you, the readers, to connect this.”

Togashi could've never put the “did he have friends his age?” line that wouldn’t make a difference - we would go with this Gon “new approach on Ging” because of how Mito feels, and would be satisfying enough. But the author, with this sentence used in the previous chapter and this panel, it’s reclaiming the audience to catch Gon’s new focus and remind us of Killua, that he’s there, relaxed, patient - and does not intend to leave. 

EDIT: I truly think Mito will play a major role in the realization of Gon’s feelings. She’s, since the beginning, an important person and a cog who makes his significations move, first subconsciously, now more actively - but I’ll elaborate more on that in future posts. 

Not deep, not a serious research, but something fun to elaborate that is implied in text, i’m used to catch this stuff and seeing by this perspective by dealing with literature classes on a daily basis. Does not mean I’m an expert or that I’m right, but that is something I’m quite sure its on purpose. Hope you all enjoyed!

[wings-of-a-storm]

Sorry to bother you, but I am in such a negative headspace right now and I was hoping you could help. I am so terrified that the entire build up on Venji's relationship is gonna all be for nothing if the writers tear them down and break them just to make room for Vahim. As much as I want Rahim to be just another obstacle for Venji to overcome, I can't shake the feeling that that's not all he is. I am so scared for Venji, and for Benji, and the last thing I want is to see their relationship end.

Aw Anon, I’m so sorry you’re having a tough time. :(

Bearing in mind that I’ve probably phrased my thoughts on this a lot better in previous Asks, I can at least give you this: my overall optimism hasn’t swayed even now, after all this time.

Maybe a lot of that has to do with the rather visceral way Benji was introduced -- it was a Big Deal, seeing it all through Victor’s head, especially with all the callbacks to Simon and Bram with the carnival environment and Simon’s voiceover about Victor finding his person if he is lucky while Victor gazes at Benji. Not to mention the ferris wheel dream. It’s like an unspoken promise to viewers that Benji is Special so we have permission to let our guards down around him and root for him. (If the writers don’t intend for Benji to be endgame, we were set up soooooo bad.)

After all, it is a pretty common pattern in shows for viewers to often root for the first couple introduced because of the level of attachment grown with no other rivals dividing loyalties. The writers would be aware of that and at the very least have to handle things carefully with future love-interests. I know not all shows follow that endgame mould, but it’s a pretty strong one -- create a couple, get most of the audience invested in them, then break them apart with as many obstacles as possible so that viewers are super duper desperate to see them get back together again by the end and will keep their eyeballs on the screen for however long it takes to get there. It’s a tried and tested methodology. The writers may want to be more subversive then that but….their love-triangle tropes show otherwise at this point, lol!

Another thing worth consideration is that the writers mentioned they wanted to look at gay friendships as well as gay love-triangles in future seasons. Who is to say Rahim won’t end up back in that friendship dynamic? Especially if Felix’s talk with Victor at the end of S2 helped him realise the difference between a crush and an established love? And even if Victor ended up trying things with Rahim at some point, who is to say the two of them won’t decide they make more sense as friends in the end? A relationship with Rahim doesn’t automatically mean Victor and Benji will never be a couple again. It’s just more drama that writers would love to inflict on everyone…

And if it helps, I don’t necessarily buy into the ‘first loves aren’t realistic endgame’ argument. Especially in a book/tv show world. Firstly, people often consume romance/fiction to see the idealised fairytale working out despite all odds. It makes people feel happy compared to the less-fun world we actually live in. And secondly: never mind Isabel and Armando, what of Simon and Bram? Is Victor not allowed to have a first love work out like his predecessors just because it has already been done and is ‘unrealistic’?

I think there is lots of hope for Victor and Benji to reconnect in future seasons. Whether right away or later on is a question mark, but there is definitely hope, dear Anon. <3