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accio-victuuri · 2 years

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cpn: interpretation of GG’s oasis photo. this has nothing to do with boxiao really, but more of a galaxy brain explanation of that post. 🏳️‍🌈

I saw this over at Douyin and found it very interesting. If this was someone else, I wouldn’t believe it but we’re talking about Xiao Zhan the Artist here. Mister deep thinker / hides clues in his art and photos / you have to read between the lines type of person.

I thought about this and if there was possibly a deeper meaning to this post. OOL finale was March 31 and at the time, XZ posted his usual finale post as well as a Douyin. XZS also did share some content. Then come April 1st, he posted this photo at 00:25. It seems to be connected to OOL, and his caption was “🐟 life, laifu! Be happy!” / yu sheng 余生 = rest of my life. The set and his clothes looks like the episode where he and his brother went to get some drinks at the bar. I don’t know how the photo was edited, how XZ worked his magic in this and the coincidence of him having this photo, that’s why the next parts of this post is speculation.

The short explanation is it’s a post to commemorate Leslie Cheung’s death anniversary of 4/1. If you have no idea who LC is, just google his name and a lot of things will come up. Trigger warning for things you will read especially with his death. If this is true, XZ is not the only one who posted something connected to LC. If you looked at Weibo that day, you’ll see the topic about him. I even saw Tony Leung post his pic in his IG story (which is a different story because they worked together). The speculation part is he cannot mention it directly so he hid it under this oasis post.

That Douyin video pointed out that this whole looking through a tank/fishbowl with goldfish roaming around is similar to a scene in one of LC’s movie - Farewell my Concubine. Again. Trigger Warning. If you don’t know what this movie is about, look it up first. The scene the cap is from is also unpleasant >> Starting 2:10:11 from the actual movie embedded below.

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One of the “symbols” that is seen in the movie is that of a goldfish. It represents image of a goldfish which is an ornamental animal cultivated by people, living a life of pampering but imprisoned everywhere. It is eerily similar to a life or a celebrity, with everyone just watching/admiring you but they have limited freedom. In the same film, the appearance of the goldfish represents the life of the main character :

The goldfish is a symbol of Cheng Dieyi and a kind of spiritual sustenance for him. Cheng Dieyi wanted to say goodbye to his environment and find his true self, but no matter how he could not escape the tragic fate of being watched like a goldfish.

Farewell My Concubine is a classic and tbh, not an easy movie to watch so I doubt that XZ’s fan base ( or most of them— and not to mention how some of his “fans” disrespected Leslie before. like I know how borderline obsessed some people are with XZ but please do not compare him to other actors or make it seem like he’s better than his seniors. please don’t cause you’re just embarrassing yourself and XZ ) will be familiar with it ; less recognize that scene. I have to admit posting with a fish bowl w/ goldfish or what is not exactly ground breaking or unique, but in this case, the TIMING is key. Why did he post it 4/1? He could have posted it 3/31 which was the actual finale day of OOL. Also the time is 00:25. I didn’t get this Kadian but turns out, it could be related to LC’s long-time partner Daffy Tong’s birthday which is 2/5 ( Daffy also posted about LC last April 1 on his IG .. I wanna cry... ) . What a coincidence because this person has the same day of birth “5” as XZ and WYB. 2/5, 8/5 and 10/5. The magic number 5 indeed.

EDIT: I’m just adding this here cause it’s another LC parallel. There is also a whole other connection people are trying to make with the 👌🏽gesture he’s doing in his photos. Which is the same one Leslie does. Some people are saying what he does, when he puts it in his eye can also mean “i see you/ i love you”. but really, I’ve seen him do this so many times even before CQL and he does it to signal “Okay”. If it truly has another meaning, we can’t confirm for sure.

The OK gesture was first seen in the 1985 movie "For You are in Love". It is the ok gesture, O is a heart and from then on the ok gesture has a special meaning: I love you.In many subsequent concerts, Leslie Cheung has made this gesture - a sign of love. Until now this gesture has special existence among the majority of Leslie Cheung fans.

On his funeral, Daffy did this gesture too. 🥲

I don’t even know if I fully believe this but looking into it just made sense to me. If I’m allowed to cpn/speculate that some of his posts are somehow a declaration of love ( or whatever ) then I guess speculating that he is paying respect to an icon like Leslie is okay. Why did he suddenly post about it, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe he is watching his films recently (?). It’s not that I’m trying to make this as confirmation of him being pro-lgbt, tho tbh, the dude starred in The Untamed. based from a popular BL novel, I don’t know why some people are still in denial that he is pro-lgbt. People are free to scream, cry and argue all day that he is straight but implying he is anti 🏳️‍🌈 or oblivious to it is just garbage. He just can’t say it directly because of his celebrity status and the country he lives in.

#personal #i don’t know what to tag cause it’s not necessarily boxiao #and i don’t wanna tag xz cause some people are ultra sensitive to speculations about him lol #not that there is anything wrong with this speculation #Youtube

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cqlfeels · 3 years

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@lansplaining encouraged me to finish this random meta nobody asked for, so let's talk about Meng Yao, Meng Shi, and 孟母三遷 (mèng mǔ sān qiān), a proverb about good parenting.

A warning: this is super long (even for me!) and is less quality meta and more my ADHD brain jumping around a maze of loosely related ideas. Proceed with caution!

Let me start by briefly going through why I decided to write this, because it’s important. In haunting Meng Shi’s tag in my starvation for Meng Shi content, I’ve multiple times come across the idea that Meng Shi pushed Meng Yao too hard, that she should’ve been more careful with teaching him to seek his father’s approval at any cost, and that she was too naïve. I’ve never reblogged this kind of post because 1) I personally think it’s rude to go out of your way to ramble about how much you disagree with someone on their own post and 2) if this was an isolated incident I wouldn't care either way, so I didn’t want to direct this rant at anyone in particular. It’s more to do with a tendency, primarily (as far as I can tell) from fans who haven’t had much contact with Chinese culture, to oversimplify Meng Shi and make her relationship with Meng Yao slightly disturbing, and I think part of it is due to CQL basically cutting out her entire storyline (so fans simply don’t have info about her to assess her fairly) and part is due to misunderstanding what a good parent is supposed to act like in the context of Ancient China.

[Of course, Ancient China is not a very useful historical concept, not any more than “ye olde Europe” - things change a lot based on time and place - but you know. It’s fantasy. Extremely broad trends are okay in this case.]

Anyway, the idea behind the posts I mentioned is, basically, that Meng Shi (usually through no fault of her own) is to blame for Meng Yao’s obsession with power, since his desire for approval was inherited from lessons she taught him. Just to start with, I’d argue that Meng Yao isn’t power-hungry as much as he craves security and respect, but that’s a different meta. Let’s assume that she really did teach him to be Like That. Was she wrong to do so? I’m not looking for “does that make for a happy, well-adjusted childhood?” or “would you raise your own son as Meng Shi did?” - I’m trying to figure out, would she have been considered a bad mother in the context of the society she lived in? I don’t think she would’ve.

It is surprisingly hard to find texts about the obligations of parents in Ancient China. Their main obligation is to raise filial children, but I feel like that’s not very useful: whether or not parents are good parents, children are expected to be filial, so a child being filial really says more about the child than about the parent. Maybe the parent completely missed the mark and society at large was what taught the child to be filial!

We can assume, of course, that parents were to raise good people, and that by learning what a good person looked like, we could figure out whether the parent was successful, but once again, I feel like that’s pinning things on the outcome, not on the process - the best of parents can end up with an awful kid and vice versa.

While thinking about all this, it took me a frankly embarrassing amount of time to remember the story of Mother Meng and Meng Zi, but once I did, it wouldn’t leave my mind - in part because the Meng here is the exact same Meng of Meng Shi and Meng Yao (yay! fun if useless parallel!), and in part because this is a story about how a woman can successfully raise a son by herself.

Okay, so important note: one of the most influential ancient Chinese thinkers is Meng Zi (孟子 Mèng Zǐ), who is known in the West as Mencius. If you've never heard of him - he's perhaps second in importance only to Confucius. When Mencius was still a young child, his father died, so he was raised by his mother, who is usually known only as Mother Meng (in Chinese, 孟母 Mèng Mǔ.)

Mother Meng's story is told in Biographies of Exemplary Women (列女傳 Liènǚ Zhuàn), which for around 2000 years beginning around the 18th century BCE, was the most commonly used book used to educate women. The book is divided into sections, each one showing a different way women could be honorable and good. Mother Meng's story is told in the Maternal Models section (母儀傳 Mǔ Yí Zhuàn.) The story has a few parts, some of which I'll quote, always from Kinney's 2014 translation.

Before I go on to quote it, though, I'd like to establish that Mother Meng's story is so, so famous that even if Meng Shi had never read this particular book, I'm almost certain she would've been familiar with at least the outlines of Mother Meng's story. I'm not cherry picking a suitable chapter from the book, I'm literally going with the most famous story in it because Meng Shi would be most likely to know this one if she knew no other story.

Okay, the first part of the tale takes place when Mencius is a young boy and Mother Meng is a widow raising him.

The mother of Meng Ke of Zou [a different name for Mencius] was called Mother Meng. She lived near a graveyard. During Mencius’ youth, he enjoyed playing among the tombs, romping about pretending to prepare the ground for burials. Mother Meng said, “This is not the place to raise my son.” She therefore moved away and settled beside the marketplace. But there he liked to play at displaying and selling wares like a merchant. Again Mother Meng said, “This is not the place to raise my son,” and once more left and settled beside a school. There, however, he played at setting out sacrificial vessels, bowing, yielding, entering, and withdrawing. His mother said, “This, indeed, is where I can raise my son!” and settled there. When Mencius grew up, he studied the Six Arts, and finally became known as a great classicist. A man of discernment would say, “Mother Meng was good at gradual transformation.”

According to the translator's footnote, "gradual transformation" is "a childrearing technique, whereby a child is morally formed through daily exposure to correct models of behavior."

From this story comes the proverb 孟母三遷 (Mèng Mǔ sān qiān) - "Mother Meng moved three times." It's come to mean that a parent - especially the mother of a male child - should spare no efforts to provide an environment that will give their child a good education, paying particular attention to what models are surrounding them.

I'm sure I don't need to say if Meng Shi was at all familiar with this proverb (and she would probably be), she must have been very stressed out over literally raising her son in a brothel. (Here I must mention sex workers in ancient China were often essentially owned by the brothels, so literally "moving three times" wasn't really an option for Meng Shi even if she could miraculously pick up another trade.) Meng Shi did however at least try to surround Meng Yao with the accomplishments appropriate for the son of a cultivator:

Xiao-Meng, are you still learning those things lately? [...] The things your mom wants you to learn, things like calligraphy, etiquette, swordsmanship, meditation… How are those things going? [...] His mom’s raising him as a young master of a wealthy family. She taught him how to read and write, bought him all those swordsmanship pamphlets, and even wants to send him to school.

Meng Yao actually talks a little bit about “those swordsmanship pamphlets” in the only time in canon he directly shares memories about this mother:

Lan XiChen, “Your [guqin] skills are also considered quite fine outside of Gusu. Were they taught by your mother?”

Jin GuangYao, “No. I taught myself by watching others. She never taught me such things. She only taught me reading and writing, and bought a handful of expensive sword and cultivation guides for me to practice.”

Lan XiChen seemed surprised, “Sword and cultivation guides?”

Jin GuangYao, “Brother, you haven’t seen them before, have you? Those small booklets sold by the common folk. First jumbled sketches of human figures, then deliberately mystified captions.”

Lan XiChen shook his head, smiling. Jin GuangYao shook his head as well, “All of them are scams, especially to fool women like my mother and ignorant children. You won’t lose anything by practicing them, but you definitely won’t gain anything either.”

He sighed in a rueful way, “But how could my mother have known this? She bought them no matter how expensive they were, saying that if I returned to see my father in the future, I had to see him with as much competence as possible so that I don’t fall behind. All of the money was spent on this.”

See what’s happening? Meng Shi cannot physically take Meng Yao to cultivators, but she spares no efforts in giving him the closest thing she possibly can -- figuratively, we might say she moved three times.

Of course, these booklets don’t work, but as Meng Yao says, how could she have known this? The cultivation world is very closed off - think of how the entire Mo household gathers to see Lan juniors, and how Wei Wuxian mentions once that “Cultivation families, in the eyes of common folk, are like people favored by God, mysterious yet noble.” Not just noble, but mysterious. That tracks, too - I mean, they live in inaccessible households and mostly leave to night hunt or visit each other, neither of which is an activity that would allow commoners to get much more than an occasional glimpse of them.

Now, if Meng Shi doesn’t even know that a pearl for Jin Guangshan was just a trinket, if she doesn’t know even the wealth of a major sect, how can she read booklets and decide whether that’s genuine cultivation or not? All that she sees is a chance for Meng Yao to be surrounded by the ideas and skills of the people she wants him to emulate - cultivators - and therefore she does everything she can to get him that chance. Mother Meng moved three times.

Okay, but maybe the argument is not “Meng Shi shouldn’t have pushed Meng Yao to cultivation” but rather “she should’ve pushed him, just not too hard." To that, I present another tale from Mencius' childhood:

Once, when Mencius was young, he returned home after finishing his lessons and found his mother spinning. She asked him, “How far did you get in your studies today?” Mencius replied, “I’m in about the same place as I was before.” Mother Meng thereupon took up a knife and cut her weaving. Mencius was alarmed and asked her to explain. Mother Meng said, “Your abandoning your study is like my cutting this weaving. A man of discernment studies in order to establish a name and inquires to become broadly knowledgeable. By this means, when he is at rest, he can maintain tranquility and when he is active, he can keep trouble at a distance. If now you abandon your studies, you will not escape a life of menial servitude and will lack the means to keep yourself from misfortune. How is this different from weaving and spinning to eat? If one abandons these tasks midway, how can one clothe one’s husband and child and avoid being perpetually short of food? If a woman abandons that with which she nourishes others and a man is careless about cultivating his virtue, if they don’t become brigands or thieves, then they will end up as slaves or servants.” Mencius was afraid. Morning and evening he studied hard without ceasing. He served Zisi [a great scholar whose grandfather was Confucius] as his teacher and then became one of the most renowned classicists in the world.

Notice that Mother Meng moved three times to ensure Mencius would have the highest of aspirations - to become a scholar. But just aspiration isn’t enough. Not by any means. Now that Mencius is actually studying, Mother Meng is willing to take an extreme action to ensure he's taking it seriously. Mencius doesn't have a father to smooth his path to success. He has to learn that aspiring to greatness isn't enough. He'll have to put in the effort as if his life depended on it. And if he doesn't persist in his hard work, everything he's done thus far will be useless. Sounds like a lesson imparted on young Meng Yao, doesn’t it?

A lot of fandom rage towards Meng Shi would apply to China's Best Mom Contender, Mother Meng. She gives her son big dreams, and teaches him how to go about achieving them in a society where failing is easier than succeeding. Yes, it's fair to say that Meng Shi taught Meng Yao to refuse to settle for anything less than being “Jin Guangshan's son, a respected cultivator.” Yes, it's also fair to say that she probably didn't allow him much time to play like children his age did. But unfortunately, in the world of MDZS, poor children probably wouldn't get to play anyhow, the difference is that they'd usually be working, not studying. Studying is a privilege! It’s a privilege Meng Yao could not afford but was given to him anyway, through his mother’s many sacrifices. We can even say that while she was alive, Meng Shi was trying to ensure Meng Yao would one day have a better life, at the expense of a fun childhood - and that's very Mother Meng of her, whatever our modern Western sensibilities might have to say about that.

Finally, I’d skip other tales (which show Mother Meng and an adult Mencius) and go straight to the poem that ends the Mother Meng section:

The mother of Mencius

Was able to teach, transform, judge, and discriminate.

With skill she selected a place to raise her son,

Prompting him to accord with the great principles.

When her son’s studies did not advance,

She cut her weaving to illustrate her point.

Her son then perfected his virtue;

His achievements rank as the crowning glory of his generation.

I’d like to focus on the last verse - “His achievements rank as the crowning glory of his generation.” All that Mother Meng wanted was for Mencius to not completely ruin his life, but he became great. You can so very easily see a parallel with how Meng Shi hoped Meng Yao would be a cultivator but he became Jin Guangyao, Chief Cultivator, styled Lianfang-zun, one of the Three Venerable, hero of the Sunshot Campaign.

Of course you can say “Jin Guangyao did many Very Wrong Things to get there, though!” Which, sure, okay, fair point. How many and how wrong depends on which canon we're discussing, and your own interpretation, but there’s no version of the story in which Jin Guangyao is 100% an innocent child uwu. But blaming that on Meng Shi is just... straight up weird? I don’t see anyone going “If Jiang Fengmian hadn’t adopted Wei Wuxian, he’d never have dared become Yiling Laozu!” and that’s pretty much the same logic. Would street kid Wei Wuxian have invented a new type of cultivation if he had never been taken in by the Jiang? Probably not, but raising undead armies is very much not something Jiang Fengmian could’ve predicted. In the same way, how could Meng Shi have predicted that teaching her pre-adolescent son “You are the son of a cultivator, act like one and earn your place in society” would’ve ultimately resulted in innocent deaths? How could she predict “You’re not destined to having the same horrible life I did, you can get something better than this” was a bad thing to teach? I quite honestly don’t know.

Finally, I'd like to point towards a much flimsier evidence that Meng Shi did great as a parent. And that is Meng Yao’s love. Nie Huaisang at some point comments Meng Shi is someone who Meng Yao "cherishes more than his life," and I think his assessment is correct.

Even putting aside the fact he built a whole temple to get his mother to reincarnate into a better life, and even putting aside how he refuses to flee the country without her remains, there's still crystal clear evidence that Meng Shi must've done something right. Because a lifetime of people using his mother to bully him doesn't seem to have made Meng Yao resent her. Had their relationship not have been very strong, odds are he'd feel bitter and/or ashamed of her. That doesn't seem to be the case. He's attached to her even decades after her death.

I want to be very careful with equating mutual affection with good parenting, though. When I was a rather rebellious teenager, my mother (in typical Chinese fashion) used to say that parents and children don't have to love each other as long as they're dutiful to each other, by which she meant that a parent-child relationship isn't informed by warm and fuzzy feelings, but by whether you'd be willing to do anything for each other. Specific to my case, she meant "I don't care if it makes you hate me, you will do as you're told because that's what's best for you." (That may also be the reason why people more familiar with Chinese culture see the Jiang family less as outright abusive and more as #complicated, but that's another meta.)

Whether your kid wants to hug you every time they see you is of no consequence to traditional Chinese thought - raising them to be the best they can is all that matters, because at the end of the day, you won't be around forever, but you can definitely set up your kid's life so that it goes smoothly and virtuously. How that's accomplished varies depending on many factors, but to have the goal be "I want my child to love me" rather than "I want to raise my child right" would've been considered selfish as hell.

So even if all that Meng Shi had given Meng Yao had been stern lessons about the need to go get his birthright, she would've still have been considered a good mother!! In fact, she would've been doing everything she was supposed to do, under extremely difficult conditions! (Remember the importance of environment? That Meng Yao grew up to want to be a cultivator despite having probably never even met one speaks wonders about Meng Shi's childrearing powers!!)

But just based off how over the top Meng Yao's filal dutifulness is, I'd go a step further and say that even as she did the impossible, she was also loving enough to inspire genuine affection. This is complicated because children who have present fathers could expect their mothers to be tender with them. The first century BCE text 禮記 Lǐ Jì or The Classic of Rites says that:

Here now is the affection of a father for his sons - he loves the worthy among them, and places on a lower level those who do not show ability; but that of a mother for them is such, that while she loves the worthy, she pities those who do not show ability - the mother deals with them on the ground of affection and not of showing them honour; the father, on the ground of showing them honour and not of affection.

But when the father figure is lacking for any reason, the mother must abandon her tenderness because someone must guide the child, and without a father, the role falls to the mother. A single or widowed mother had to be very careful to not smother their children with affection and raise useless, spoiled kids, or so it was thought. (The presence of Qingheng-jun and Lan Qiren is why Madame Lan can be so affectionate with the Lan boys, by the way - if she was raising them by herself she would've been expected to be much more practical. AUs where she just gets her kids and runs away could do very cool things with this idea. But I digress!)

Where was I? Oh, okay. Because Meng Yao seems to not just respect, but actively miss her, it seems that Meng Shi somehow managed to deal with her son on the ground of both honor and affection, to paraphrase.

So basically, all things considered, it seems not only would Meng Shi have been considered a great mom (if people could look past her being a prostitute, anyway) but she also went above and beyond the bare minimum. She truly spared no efforts on any front to make sure her son had everything your average gongzi would have - someone to teach him and someone to love him, access to education and confidence in his birthright. That she couldn't actually make him a cultivator, that she couldn't actually raise him in a proper home with no one being cruel to herself or him - that's immaterial. Even Mother Meng couldn't control what her neighbors did, only what she taught her son! The key point is Meng Shi tried. She did everything she could to educate her son right. You couldn't ask more of her, and quite honestly, you should probably be asking less.

Of course we can't err on the other extreme and say she was Perfect. Given MXTX only ever writes flawed characters, we can safely assume that if we'd known more about Meng Shi, we would've seen many flaws. Indeed, just the fact she didn't teach Meng Yao the guqin when he apparently wanted to learn it might point to some conflict we don't know enough to speculate about (maybe she focused too much on cultivation when Meng Yao's interests lay elsewhere? Maybe she wasn't able to sufficiently shelter him and he felt it'd be a burden to ask her to teach him anything? Maybe maybe maybe, go wild with your fics.) Nevertheless, I would never hold a female character to a higher ideal than a male character - if the male cast of MDZS can be a hot mess and still be admirable for what they're trying to do, then so can Meng Shi.

At the end of the day, when I look at Meng Shi - and I've made myself a document with all the references to her in the novel canon so I could easily contemplate her life and character - all I see is a woman every bit as determined and resourceful as her son, willing to do everything it took to raise her little boy into the sophisticated and ambitious man he became.

Finally, here's a fun little parallel that I'm 100% sure was unintentional but I still love. I said Meng Shi couldn't have moved three times. She couldn't, but I think maybe she taught her son he was worth moving three times for. Qinghe Nie. Qishan Wen. Lanling Jin. Isn't that super fun to think about?

Alternatively, tl;dr: Oh My God I Can't Believe We're Blaming Women For The Actions Of Their Adult Children In The Year Of Our Lord 2k21, Meng Shi Was Doing Her Best, Chill!

#drinking game #take a shot every time i say 'finally'#this post refused to let me get to the end of it lol #i think because i'm extremely salty about fanon stage mom meng shi #(to not say tiger mom meng shi which crosses into outright racism. but i'm giving people the benefit of the doubt)

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beneaththetangles · 2 years

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Reader’s Corner: A Sign of Affection, Dragon and Ceremony, and My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story

My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic, Vol. 17

The final arc of Oregairu (this is the 17th of 19 manga volumes) shifts heavily toward the dramatic, immediately evident ipn the cover which makes Hachiman, commonly memified as Batman-like hero, 8-man (“Hachi-man”), look like he’s in an action manga, while Yukino and Yui look on sorrowfully. Yes, it’s a bit overdramatic, but so, too, is the material from the light novels upon which this manga is based. I’ve been critical of the too-long, overserious final arc of what’s otherwise a remarkably witty and wonderfully thoughtful series. But the manga takes a slightly and surprisingly different beat. Volume 17, in which little happens on the surface (Yukino continues to struggle with impending cancellation of the prom while Hachiman wonders whether or not he should help) but where all the main characters are hitting the climax of their feelings and considering how to move forward, is a satisfying and lovely read. And it’s all because of the mangaka. As all works are apt to do, My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic has developed over time, from the rougher artwork and writing trying to find a voice early on to a beautifully developed piece that now stands on its own, as Ponkan⑧ and Naomichi use the strengths available in manga format to take light novel writer Wataru Watari’s wordiness (both his greatest strength and weakness) and make emphasis where necessary, using panels drawn as metaphors to explain or break up confusing and long passages, and incredible artwork every few pages (ex. a shot of Yui in the future as a housewife) to do the same. They also avoid having the heavy drama overwhelm the general tone of the story by including cutesy, kawaii, and romantic panels, creating a nice balance to an arc that is and needs to be dramatic, but not overly so. I should also note that even though I can’t describe myself as a Yui stan, I’m happy to see the opportunity she receives to shine in these chapters, most surprisingly through Haruno’s perfect description of her character, a nice moment in the midst of emotional chaos. And there’s no doubt, chaos is the center of this volume, an untangling of complex emotions by teenagers who are struggling to do so, and if that sounds rather dull, well, in Ponkan⑧ and Naomichi’s hands, it’s not—it’s thrilling. I cannot wait to see how these two conclude this masterful series in the final two volumes. ~ Twwk

My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic is published by Yen Press.* Volume 17 releases on January 25th.

Visions 2021 Illustrators Book

You may follow artists who illustrate in anime-style art on Instagram, Twitter, or deviantArt, but are you familiar with Pixiv? The Japanese site has exploded in recent years, and mostly feature Asian artists who illustrate in styles familiar to anime fans. The Visions 2021 book captures the art of many of Pixiv’s most notable artists, including Lack, Kawacy, and 江戸屋犬八, with each receiving a two-page spread in this several hundred-page artbook in which almost every single piece that is featured (mostly somewhere between 3-7 per artist) is breathtaking, worthy of examination and admiration. I’ve long held an account at Pixiv and frequently talk to artists about featuring their work here on our blog and on other sites, and so am absolutely thrilled to see many of their original works (there are very few fanart pieces in Visions 2021—I saw just one, in fact, for Spice and Wolf) in a physical copy. Landscapes, especially, sparkle in a way they don’t on a digital screen. Fans of Pixiv will also be excited to see the caption material for artists, which include profiles and both English and Japanese (or Chinese or Korean) translations of their names. The profiles also often explain their what kind of work they do, with some having reached the heights of the industry, including two of our favorites, Loundraw and Yoshitoshi ABe, and Ponkan⑧, who we praised in the review above. Those unfamiliar with Pixiv will marvel at how insanely detailed and powerful these illustrations of mainly anime girls can be, and how they run a gamut of different styles and genres, made all the more evident by a lack of thematic order (pages are ordered alphabetically by artist name). There is some gore, body horror, and fanservice, but the works aren’t explicit, and veer toward what I might describe as “tasteful ecchi,” if there is such a thing. ~ Twwk

Visions 2021 Illustrators Book is published by Yen Press.*

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 4

The next volume of A Sign of Affection is here and it is precious as always! This continues to be a manga that doesn’t languish on my stacks; I start it shortly after it arrives because I love it so much. This trend continues as I was already squealing within the first few pages! While Yuki continues to be amazing and sweet as ever, Itsuomi really shines in this volume. He’s more relaxed then ever before. Yuki really sees him in his element and much of what takes place in this volume reminds me of a certain scene from Kimi ni Todoke when Kazehaya tells Sawako he wants to “feel his future” with her. I don’t know if that is what Itsuomi is thinking or not (because yeah, I agree with Yuki that he is still a mystery), but gosh, I love how he is just so respectful of Yuki! And his thoughtfulness! Both him and Kyouya bring the swoon-worthy vibes! There’s lots and lots of wholesomeness in this volume and with an ending that had a good turn of events. I’m not sure if I would say there’s a plot twist, as well, but now I am super curious to know what will happen next because I wasn’t expecting that! 5 out of 5 stars, and as always, a desperation for the next volume! ~ Laura A. Grace

A Sign of Affection is published by Kodansha.

My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: On the Verge of Doom!, Vol. 1

This spinoff manga of the My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! light novel series asks a fun what-if question: What if Katarina didn’t regain memories of her past life—and thus the knowledge of Fortune Lover and her impending doom—until she was already in the academy? This presents quite a few problems for her: Not only does she have to somehow reverse all the bullying against protagonist Maria that she had started (while everyone around is confused why her personality changed so much), but she now also only has one year before her supposed Bad Ends! This is a very enjoyable spinoff that twists the story just enough to make some interesting changes. For example, one of game!Katarina’s lackeys becomes a significant character as Katarina tries to convince her to stop bullying Maria. At the same time, this spinoff works because Katarina is still her same ditzy self, and her bumbling around to find ways to prepare for her Bad Ends are both familiar and just different enough to still be funny. Much of the original main cast is also here, though it is worth noting that here, they have not been influenced by a younger reincarnated Katarina, which again provides all sorts of interesting differences and similarities as Katarina interacts with them. Overall, this was a really fun spinoff and one I definitely recommend for Bakarina fans, although it’s best to be familiar with the original series (whether through the light novel, manga, or anime) to get the most out of it. ~ stardf29

My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: On the Verge of Doom! is published by Seven Seas.

Dragon and Ceremony, Vol. 1

Wandmaking apprentice Ix is at a crossroads, figuratively and literally—his master has died, he lacks the credentials to become a full-fledged craftsman on his own, and stand at the road, unsure where to go. There he meets Yuui, a young woman hiding beneath a hood who approaches him with a wand in need of repair. Their serendipitous meeting sets off an unexpected journey which by the end of volume one of Dragon and Ceremony leads to most satisfying and beautiful conclusion. This is a well-written novel. Though it relies on a very standard fantasy setting and wandmaking conventions that will be familiar to Harry Potter fans, there’s a subtlety and strength in how author Ichimei Tsukushi guides the story. He mixes humor, mystery, and fantastical elements, but the main object for us as readers is to enjoy the dual leads as we get to know them and see how they grow over the course of the novel. Tsukushi also makes wonderful use of religion in his story. Too often presented as an almost comical villain in other similar series, without much depth, here religion is presented more broadly and deeply, and it plays a significant role in the wondrous conclusion to the tale. Speaking of the ending, volume one concludes in such a way that readers will long for more, to see in what direction this story will develop. It feels a lot like the early volumes of Spice and Wolf in that the series feels as if it can go in a variety of directions, and that its main characters could come together or stay apart, which adds to the magic of an already magical volume. I, for one, am entranced. ~ Twwk

Dragon and Ceremony is published by Yen Press.*

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 4

I’ve been addicted to Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki lately, finding the series about the titular nerd receiving to become a normie to be highly engaging and surprising in the best of ways. Volume four, however, is a slight step back from the heights of volume three, which ended with Hinami being challenged for the first time for her world view, the way she approaches life, and just generally in how she treats others. In this follow-up, Tomozaki is now given what amounts to a volume-long assignment of trying to get the horrible, terrible, no-good Konno to actually want to participate in the upcoming school sports festival. I like how this volume, more than previous ones, feels very video game-like, not just by the constant analogies made, but by how the author structures the plot to make it feel as if Tomozaki is in an RPG and planning to fight a tough boss. However, some of the flaws of the series are getting tiring by this point, including a complaint I have about many shonen / harem works: The MC is a character whom we’re supposed to like and buy into, even though he’s actually leading several girls on (but it’s okay because he has no idea they like him!). Tomozaki as narrator is far too smart to not realize, or simply take the time to think about, whether Fuuka (and may others?) likes him. Also, the turn that happens near the end of volume four, a veering toward the importance of another character in volume five, feels a bit forced and isn’t terribly compelling (at least not yet). Still, for all its flaws, I finished the book in about two days. I remain addicted, and imagine I’ll stay that way unless the low points grow more prominent than the engaging remaining elements of the series. ~ Twwk

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki is published by Yen Press.*

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Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

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one-gold-sunflower · 4 years

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Reposters, and a thread on why they are more harmful than anything especially on Instagram

First off, let's put the bases down: what is a reposter? A reposter is someone (usually on Instagram) who will take a screenshot of the art and repost it on their page, crediting or not the original artist. Their page will so contain only artwork that isn't from them, and will add captions to fit their theme.

So, how is harmful?

Because unlike what you might think, it doesn't bring any attention to the artist. Nor help them grow in popularity. What they are doing is stealing likes and popularity on the back of artists to fit their theme because they usually don't want to draw and are a roleplay account, and like to repost art they see on Pinterest.

The artist barely get any view from this, actually. Because a majority of people finding the post of the reposter won't bother following the artist and just like and follow the reposter and thus, not giving the views to the original artist.

Reposters also may not credit, or may not want to credit the artist because of laziness, usually, or because they think crediting the rightfully creator the art they stole and reposted is wrong and that they are in their right.

A small example of this.

Here the first picture is from a repost account I took completely randomly from the eddsworld hashtag. You can see it has a lot of attraction. The account is near 10k which is quite a lot. They took the time to add credit, which is a good thing, but it won't sadly solve the biggest issue.

Which is that the original artist has half the views and interaction as the original post. Which is very alarming, don't you think?

(Art rightfully owned by the talented @dditjmej , and I really ask you to follow and support their content if you appreciate it)

This is the biggest problem about repost, the reposter gets more interaction than the artist and the artist only has a small portion of the reposter's followers that will actually like the original post. Because why bother following each artist when there's someone stealing art and reposting it for you to like on the platform you're on?

People might say that it is necessary to bring art on other medias than only the original one where the artist post, but if you really liked and supported the artist you would promote their page and invite people to follow them on the platform, not repost it.

This is literally like website stealing content from small creators and making money off of them and still saying "But we are crediting! We are doing nothing wrong!" It doesn't help the artist and actually harm them more than anything.

And I will add that some artists don't want to see their art reposted or don't want to see it on internet anymore for any reason, and reposters, often finding it by Pinterest and not caring, will repost it anyway and be even more wrong because they clearly went against the artist's will, and you cannot pretend you support someone while going against what they say.

This is the end of the thread, and for those who read it til here, I hope it taught you something, if you already didn't know.

#eddsworld #writing post #repost #let's talk about it #reposting #please reblog #this is important

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atamascolily · 3 years

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Unicorn Chronicles, Book 4: “The Last Hunt,” by Bruce Coville

The Last Hunt is even longer than Dark Whispers--the hardcover edition runs to a whopping 605 pages (not including a multi-page character list), so it's a great example of Sequel Creep. Scholastic never gave it a paperback run, so Coville ended up buying back the rights and re-releasing it as smaller volumes (bringing the series to seven in all) to balance it back out a little. But still. It's a lot.

Coville says in the acknowledgements:

If I hadn't been painfully aware so many people were waiting for this story, I might have given up at any number of points along the way.So thanks, dear fans, it's been a long journey, and I literally could not have done it without you.

1) Awwww. 2) #relatable.

The Last Hunt is divided into sections based on time: 'Blood Moon Night," 'Day One of the Invasion,' and so on. The entire book spans about six days in all (five days + the Blood Moon), although there are lots of flashbacks and the last chapter opens with a time skip of several weeks. Suffice to say, this is one hell of a week. Each section is also captioned with a quote--sometimes from one of the Unicorn Chronicles, sometimes from Sun Tzu's The Art of War, which is unexpectedly plot-relevant.

We left off with Beloved and her army of Hunters invading Luster by ripping a hole in the Axis Mundi, the World Tree, with the intent to kill all the unicorns. The unicorns, led by the newly crowned Amalia Flickerfoot, must decide what to do next.

What follows: so many subplots, an inevitable quest, dragons, humans gonna humans, baleful polymorphs, dramatic battles, and a literal deus ex machina.

WHAT HAPPENS:

Lightfoot is right by the Axis Mundi when the gate opens, so he watches in horror as the Hunters come through. He tries to escape to warn the Queen, only to be pursued. To escape, he runs through the Gate to Earth, which for some reason burns people the second time around if they don't wait long enough (for reasons that make zero sense to me). Lightfoot finds himself in Beloved's keep in the Himalayas, and finds Cara's mother Martha asleep and pulls her out of the Rainbow Prison.

Fortunately, Martha was able to make contact with Ian and company long enough to learn how to pull them out, so she does. Lightfoot is afraid to go through the gate because he doesn't want to get crisped, so they wait until Beloved sends her troops after him, and then sneak in behind them. It turns out Fallon created the unicorns and is basically a deity.

Beloved has adopted a bunch of orphans -- girls abandoned by their families--whose purpose is to be unicorn bait. We meet one of them, Feng Quan, who is a total badass and a Sun Tzu stan, who is horrified when she witnesses a unicorn being slaughtered and jumps ship. Feng Quan runs into Belle, who has been haunted by the Whisperer (who knows Belle wants to be Queen) and convinces the skeptical warrior to take her to Amalia Flickerfoot.

Meanwhile the Geomancer M'Gama has been captured by the delvers, and Rocky and his reunited cove search for his teacher, the wizard Namza, who is turned to stone and having a lot of flashbacks. They eventually join up and work to stabilize Luster, which is devastated by increasingly severe earthquakes as Beloved's gate is destroying the Axis Mundi and thus the entire world.

The queen sends Cara on another quest, this time to beg the dragon Grammaug for aid. (IDK while Amalia doesn't try to get all seven dragons, but okay, fine, whatever.) This time, it's only Cara and Medafil, because everyone else is busy. Cara encourages her grandmother to "think like a human" to outwit Beloved, which Feng Quan seconds when she arrives.

Grammaug turns out to be a dragon who turned into a human (it's complicated) and came to Luster because she was basically allergic to the world that all the other dragons went to when Bellemore opened THEIR gate. I thought that her story dragged on a little long, but it does eventually turn out to be relevant, since we are introduced to Transformational Magic, which can be moved around from person to person. Watch this space.

Hunters are looking for Cara, using special "blood trackers" that cannot be fooled, because Beloved wants her for unspecified reasons. Thomas the Tinker is also on his own quest to pick something up at the Queen's behest. The centaurs are having drama of their own as well. Ian tries to track Cara and gets captured by the delvers and taken to the king, who sends him to Beloved.

Grammaug agrees to help, but they are intercepted by the hunters on their journey back and Cara encounters Elihu, the mysterious "friend" Fallon has been searching for, who transforms her into a unicorn in order to lure the hunters off the scent.

Amalia and Feng Quan come up with a plan and send Grammaug to deliver a message, lying to the dragon about the details to mislead Beloved. Grimmwold summons the Queen's Players as part of the plan. Cara runs into Fallon, who reveals that Elihu created Luster, and was banished from the gods' realm because of it, and Fallon came down with him. Grammaug persuades Firethroat to join the battle; Firethroat is very pro eating humans, and agrees. The Whisperer uses Martha Hunter's anger about her mother to try and turn her against the unicorns.

Everyone converges on the Axis Mundi before the battle. We learn that a deity called Allura was responsible for sending the story of the Whisperer from the Chronicles and giving it to the centaurs and she made the Squijum. Like Fallon, she is searching for Elihu. Cara reveals her true identity, and reunites with her mother, who rejects the Whisperer.

Fallon summons the Whisperer and fights it to the death (Fallon's doesn't take). The group pieces together that the Dimblethum is Elihu--he returned to his true form when he betrayed Luster by helping Beloved with the Gate, only to revert back when he used his magic on Cara--and they must bring him back since he's the only one who can save Luster.

The Queen's Players stage a performance and Thomas produces a cockatrice who starts turning Hunters to stone. The dragons shoot flames, and the unicorns attack. Rajiv frees Ian in the chaos. Moonheart dies in the charge. Beloved is perplexed by the Whisperer's absence, and the centaurs and delvers arrive to join the fight. The Hunters flee back to Earth. The Axis Mundi splits in half and the dragons try to hold it together temporarily.

Cara attacks the delver king, who is trying to murder the Dimblethum, and the delver king falls into a conveniently opened hole in the ground and is swallowed up forever. Fallon uses transformational magic to swap places with Elihu so that Elihu can fix the tree. Elihu can't hold it alone, so Allura helps and both are swallowed up by the repaired tree. Graumag dies.

Beloved, believing Cara to be dead, takes Martha hostage and taunts Team Good. Cara reveals herself and Beloved begs for death. Cara tries to heal her and fails and Beloved dies.

Rajiv joins the Queen's Players. Cara is still a unicorn and no one can turn her back, but everyone's okay with it? The surviving Hunters are put to sleep and woken one by one and given the choice of staying in Luster or returning to earth; Feng Quan and Belle work with the maidens. The new Dimblethum and the Squijum visit the Axis Mundi every night to mourn their fellows and M'Gama and Namza are still in comas and we never learn their ultimate fate. Firethroat is in mourning and refuses to talk to anyone.

HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT:

"meh". So much happens and it's extremely epic, but I only care about half the characters, and the rest is just tedious. The whole deus ex machina thing could have been interesting, but wasn't--I could deal with ONE god running around but three was pushing it. The Dimblethum being Elihu was fine, but Fallon and Allura on top of that was too much. I would have preferred Grimmwold stepping in with a legend that allowed them to piece the answers together or something--not this.

It was hard to tease out what was relevant and what was a red herring (Felicity in the Rainbow prison, the Blind Man, etc). Lots of new characters, but I felt like the old characters were already underused - I wanted to see much more of Thomas and Grimmwold, for instance. Feng Quan, however, is absolutely awesome and I love her. She and Belle are perfect together.

Cara ends up staying a unicorn was something I definitely did not see that one coming. Which makes Cara/Lightfoot the strongly implied endgame ship, which is just NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING WHEN I STARTED THIS SERIES, THAT'S ALL. They barely have any time together at all in this, even at the end, which makes me sad. Likewise, all that Lightfoot/Belle stuff never gets addressed.

IDK why Jaques keeps giving speeches about how he doesn't care if he and Cara are related by blood - they seem to be more for Cara's benefit than any character development/change.

Lightfoot's first glimpse of Earth (which he has never seen before) is incredibly poignant. So is his wandering around the deserted castle and struggling without hands. I wish he and Cara were able to discuss this, but NOPE, there is no time for discussion in this entire book, sigh.

The whole business about only going through the portal once in a given time period makes zero sense to me, especially given the established worldbuilding. It feels so contrived. Likewise, Belle and Martha are tempted by the Whisperer, which doesn't really go anywhere for either of them?

I don't know why Elihu smashes the amulet to transform Cara if there's this whole transformational magic thing going on. I still don't really get how that works.

I am also annoyed that Fallon deals with the Whisperer instead of the unicorns. So much for the unicorns "embracing their own darkness" and coming to terms with the fact that they screwed up in their ambition to be perfect. What a wasted opportunity.

Also, it's book four, and we're only NOW finding out there's a prophecy that a scion of the hunters and the unicorns is the only one who can destroy Beloved?? Seems like we needed that earlier. We knew Beloved wanted Cara, we just didn't know WHY until the last possible minute. [Also, who told her that and why??] Without the Whisperer, Beloved is pretty helpless, which annoys me--I wanted her to be a villain in her own right.

Coville is very clear that Beloved tortures Ian, but like, only emotionally, because this is a kid's book, and that Elihu and Fallon are Definitely Not Gay For Each Other, which annoys me. (Coville is generally sympathetic towards queer folks; I really enjoyed his short story "Am I Blue?" which is about a literal fairy godparent and a working gaydar, so this was disappointing.)

The whole subplot with the Blind Man borrowing Ian's eyesight goes absolutely nowhere. I thought the Blind Man was going to play into the Luster drama somehow, but no, he's just some random magician who uses his deal with Ian to blind him at inopportune moments for reasons of his own that are never explained. WTF. This is one reason I hate Ian's subplot so much!!

Likewise, Martha seems cool, but her genuine beef with Ian, Beloved, and Ivy/Arabella get smoothed over and ignored because there's just zero time for anything in the midst of the chaos. Which is too bad!

The fact that the Squijum is the personal favorite creation/messenger of a god is just hilarious to me. Doesn't mean he isn't annoying af, though.

I WANTED ALL SEVEN DRAGONS AHHH.(though apparently there’s a secret eighth dragon no one talks about??WHAT???)

I think I'd be more okay with it if there was more time at the end to see the characters react and reflect--there's only one chapter, and it's not nearly enough. Is Lightfoot still Prince or is the Cara the heir now that she's a unicorn? How do THEY feel about that? That's another subplot from the previous books that just didn't go anywhere, and it bugs me.

(I was convinced Beloved was going to wake Martin Hunter from his sleep and have him lead the attack--like a reverse King Arthur--and I'm SO MAD THAT DIDN'T ACTUALLY HAPPEN...)

Also the fact that Cara has to mercy kill someone at the climax of not one but TWO BOOKS in this series... damn. I’d like to see some more reflection and thought about this after the fact.

Also, the whole thing with the delver-unicorn connection -- what kind of relationship are the two species going to have moving forward? RADIO SILENCE. What the hell did the other dragons think was happening during all this and why didn't they help/investigate? Are the Hunters going to stage a counterattack or disband now that they've lost their leader? Are the unicorns going to return to Earth or will it continue to be just the Guardian of Memory?? There are so many things that are just left hanging, and while MAYBE Coville will write another book to address these issues (it's happened before!) I am grumpy because I WANT TO KNOW, DAMN IT.

I had hoped on re-read I'd feel better about this, but I don't. I get to the end and I think "why?" which is not a great feeling to have. IDK what exactly I expected from this series--it definitely delivers in some ways, and in others, it totally falls short. I’m still impressed Coville managed to finish and it’s not entirely his fault that the results didn’t match up with my expectations, but it’s still sad that older!Me isn’t more excited about the end results.

*sigh* Maybe older!Me will buckle down and write a fix-it fic or two to make younger!Me happy. Currently, the only Unicorn Chronicles fic on A03 is a complicated crossover between LOTR and various other media featuring a human!Lightfoot, which I probably will never read, but it makes me happy to know it exists. FFN has more stories, but this was never a popular fandom, so the field is wide open for anything I want to do with it (more so than usual). Also, it seems I wasn't the only person of a certain age imagining self-insert fic in this universe, which is oddly reassuring.

#unicorn chronicles #bruce coville #book reviews #the last hunt #childhood influences #fic ideas

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enzo-zzz · 3 years

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A vent on the fandom + cg

If you dont wanna hear any negativity, please just ignore this post. It includes dissatisfication on the yttd fandom and ongoing belief in it. I'm not going to use very kind words here, so just ignore this post. 3b spoilers included.

I like yttd so much, but the english fandom, i cannot interact because how toxic it is. Even the smallest different of which route you choose, will attract anyone to abuse, harrass, ridicule or humiliate you. And to be truth, there are many of them who are so judgemental, to the point that there is only one thing that are right and the other are wrong. Black and white mindset. The term "canon route" is what fans created itself. I guess there are many of them who are teens or kids, since most of kids who havent grown up yet tend to lean towards black and white mindset, even if they believe they are not. If you find people who keep arguing especially on social media, you can bet that its teens. Adult are too tired to involve in things like fighting with strangers. There is one time when the poll asked your age and the age range quite small to teens age. I guess thats why i think so.

OTHER THAN THAT, THERE'S ONE THING I'M ANNOYED WITH. ABOUT THE CG AND HOW THE FANDOM DECIDES THAT THE MORE CGS, THE MORE CANON IT IS. To be perfectly honest, i'm the one who came up with the analysis that on certain route 2-2 ending the cg is more. But people really use it the wrong way and now thought that anything that has more cg is the canon route. The word canon route is wrong in itself, who tf come up with the term canon route in yttd? Is the reason for creating two route is for one to be canon only, or for sparing different characters, or for having different storyline? (I personally think that on different route, the story will change and the ones who got to live at last is probably different ). Now i see those who misuse that information everywhere. "In sou route 2-2 ending evil joe AI dont even have new cg but in kanna route he has. See how biased the devs are? he should have drawn more if he really meant the route to be the canon one. Kanna route will get happy ending, sou route is bad ending." I think thats stupid. B*tch, he keep reusing his old art here and there. You can check for yourself. Joe and midori has same hand based on the cg? He's just reusing the hand art. The arm in 3b and 1-1 is the same arm he reuse. Sou and kanna 2-2 ending basically use the same sou drawing, he just changed it a bit. Sara in 2-2 kanna ending use the same cg as when keiji try to calm her in front of computer, he just changed the face. Midori and sara on the 3b game screen cg basically use the same cg in the 3b content, but changed a bit. So i can think why need to create new cg when joe is still malicious as the hallucination in 2-2 sou ending? If i want to create something i will also reuse this to save my time.

So if you wanna really use this cg argument, then maybe you can consider why alice memory game got so many more cg than reko's? and how ranmaru gone insane has so many new sprite and pose with the hair like that. And why when dummy is dead they got cg's. Especially the ranmaru dying one, he got moving cg's and how it was put more effort into that. Then that means dummy dying is actually the canon route since when they alive they got no addtional cg? This is my assumption, but i think the devs just do as many cg as it takes depends on how impactful the scene he's working on, not because its canon, thats really a lazy take if he is actually unwilling to do extra route but still forcing himself to do it anyway. Imagine if dummy is dying but no cg, instead a message " ranmaru/mai/anzu died ". Do you think that will really give impact to you? This game clearly hinting that joe is going to be the spotlight of the game, even in 3b. So when sou set the real joe ai in kanna route for sara, the script is written for the real joe to genuinely react to sara. of course thats going to be heartwrenching since joe himself is the very important part of sara's life. When the script is made that way, lacking of cgs will hamper down the storytelling nankidai genuinely want to deliver. All i can say is it come from the heart of the author himself. If it is just only text for something as tearful as that moment and no cgs, it wont really touch the feeling isnt it? It is the same with alice memory game that tells about how alice "kill" midori. I'm not sure how many it is but atleast there is 3 cgs with one of them has variant. The story of how alice kill midori is also important and should have impact, thus the extra CG's. I can say its about being passionate and indulged in the storytelling.

I dont even know if joe will ever heal sara in sou route, but based on how the story still keep joe relevant til the end, then there must be something that need to happen between them in the end right? Nankidai even made sure that sara see the dog keychain in 3a if player probably choose to not ask gin about the dog keychain he's hiding in ch 2. Its also for relating ranmaru and joe. Having closure or conclusion with joe in the middle of game is still valid, and having a closure with joe at the end of the game is still valid. Imo, having closure with joe at the end of the game after all of those suffering involving him makes the better climax or impact for sara chara development since the game build up to highlight joe and mr. Policeman, it can be even better if all of it are to be pull together in the ending.

Even if the devs has route he prefer, he's not abandoning any route he less prefer, only if its true that he ever have a route he prefer. Plus you dont know which route he's prefer if any. He's taking his work seriously, it just some "fans" looking down on him, even to the point calling him biased, he's punishing the one who take another route, treating like he only use his career for egostatiscal reason (it somehow clearly mirrors that you are the one who egostatiscal to the point of wanting to find any excuse to punish other, you just using the devs name to validate your mindset). If he's dislike people who chose that route that much, then why create that route? If he know its tiring to make alternate route, then why still make the choice to let 3 dummy alive route at the end? It will make more work. I can only assume its out of passion, or just that he deep down wants the character to be alive atleast in a route ( idk if this is correct, i just read google translated version of his public fanbox that he's actually very reluctant at first when the time comes and "crying" so hard when he had to kill joe in chapter 1. So the part where he wants to spare some character is only my assumption ). By this punishing logic, shouldnt he not make alice die when you push reko ai to spare gin, and only do it to those who dont push the ai to save gin by killing real reko? I am more sure that the variants is to tell a different story or who to spare, and specifically for who sara actually was.

Happy endings? I'm not sure. I've expected that once from story with a lot of deaths, wishing for atleast the protagonists alive. Anime or story with a lot of death is definitely my jam, but from what i see, most of them has bittersweet ending, it depends on how the author wants it to be. Some author dont mind killing them all till the end, and some author just easily kill them all because they plan to revive them later. And everyone sense is different. Some japanese people sense in storytelling is a bit different imo. As the one being the audience, happy endings is the most common wish the audience wants. But its all up to the sense of the author. This is why i'm annoyed with some kids from overseas who rarely watch or play many things that involves a lot of death from japan suddenly says that this "one happy ending, this one bad ending! Everyone will survive in this route, everyone dead in this route"

Just play any route you like, nothing wrong with that. Whats wrong is to start this war of ridiculing others or have that irritating attitude towards those who play their own first route and start bad mouthing or desperately throwing bad assumption that one route will end very bad just for the sake of feeling better for your choice and to scare others.You do know that when you read a book, you'll only know if the overall story is good or bad until you know the ending right? The ending will conclude everything that happened. What happening in the fandom is now like, you only read 3/4 of the book and already expecting that this one will have good ending and bad ending. What if its not about the binary, but for the difference in direction? Its not that bad if the story of the book is kinda predictable, but with how plot twists become the main part of yttd's charm, its getting more difficult to predict how it will end. There's a lot of story which was masterpiece in every part as seen by fans, until the ending hits. Its what the author wants, but its not what the fans wants.

If you pick fights with others, even passively, the consequence is all on you. Good luck taking care of your mess.

Thats why i'm reluctant to publish any theory because the fandom will always use it as an excuse to pick fights with other and say " i'm more right bcs i got this proof" . U see in my caption i dont want any of those harasser to even digest my theory. If you are one of them get out of my blog.

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jcmorrigan · 3 years

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001 - Tales of Zestiria?

Favorite character: It's a tough call between Maltran and Symonne, and Lunarre is trailing right behind both. I tend to call them the "Heldalf Squad," but make no mistake, Heldalf himself isn't part of it. I just like his swagalicious minions. The dry and sarcastic political manipulator, the sadistic and wordy theater nerd, and the flamboyant cannibal who hates everything. Yes. LOVE. But I have to give a shout to my boy Dezel on the hero side! Angsty/stoic characters are very hit-or-miss with me, but Dezel is the flavor I love - obvious soft spots and quirks, and slowly he builds from being antisocial to showing how big his heart is. When he stops the woman from leaping off the Guinevere tower...that's one of my favorite scenes in the entire game, because you can see when the switch flips, when he realizes that he CANNOT stay aloof any longer when there's a stranger's life on the line. He's still a grump about it but a compassionate grump.

Least Favorite character: Heldalf. His backstory is really clever, and I like the curse on him. But he himself just feels like Ganondorf but more boring. I kinda hate that he's so vanilla when his three lieutenants are in my arsenal of pet villains from the vastness of fiction. Also shout-out to Chancellor BART in the opening Ladylake act, because I distinctly remember liveblogging this to a friend, and I played Zestiria *after* Berseria (I'd loved Berseria and that's why I eventually sought out Zestiria) so here I am just comparing up the corrupt church in Ladylake to the Abbey's suave rogues gallery like "Yeah no BART has nothing on Lady Teresa Linares." Thankfully BART was never seen again.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): DezeRose, SorMik, Symonne x Coco Atarashi (The World Ends With You), Alisha Diphda x Sergei Strelka, and...I swear you have to bear with me here...Zaveid x Anna (Frozen). I also kinda wanna note a couple ships I'm on the fence about for my other favies - those being Maltran x Ebony Maw (Marvel Cinematic Universe or Marvel Ultimate Alliance) and Lunarre x Arkham (Devil May Cry).

Character I find most attractive: Dezel. It is a scientific fact that guys with pointy teeth are just hotter.

Character I would marry: Maybe Dezel, maybe Sergei. I wouldn't want to take them from those I see as their wifeys, but at the same time, they are husband goals, both of them.

Character I would be best friends with: Catch me clinging to Maltran's train and she drags me along annoyedly as I yell "PLEEEEAAASE LET ME HANG OUT WITH YOU GUYS" and Lunarre is losing it laughing while Symonne rolls her eyes

a random thought: So I toyed around with basically every accessory I picked up, and I decided to put the sideburns on Rose because fuck gender roles. Well then I just got used to seeing her with facial hair in every cutscene where her 3D model was used, and now I headcanon that she does get it. Maybe nonclassical CAH intersex? Like, I don't necessarily see her as trans (but I support everyone who hc's her as such) but moreso "a cis woman, but I grow this stupid damn facial hair like a dude and I don't get why." And this is why you shouldn't let me play with customizable accessories on RPG characters because I can and will abuse my privilege to headcanon.

An unpopular opinion: That this is actually a very good game. Listen, I think I get it - the initial marketing promised something far different. And that's disappointing. But coming back to it several years after its release, after the release of its PREQUEL, when I never had that hype building up...it actually exceeded my expectations. I held off from it for a while because I thought Eizen's fate would make me too sad, but that didn't end up the case at all. I actually had just come off playing a more recently-released triple-A game that was hyped up for years, and I completed it to my satisfaction in 20 hours. $80 for 20 hours. Zestiria gave me my money's worth in comparison; it took me about 60, and I loved just how MUCH story it had to offer me. I honestly like Rose better than Alisha anyway (Rose was one of the biggest aspects that interested me about playing it in the first place). I've also seen complaints that the characters weren't well-developed enough? Which I just kinda take to mean "They didn't angst enough." Listen. There are PLENTY of games out there if you want angst and sad stories. I don't really like sad stories in my games. I like adventures where the party is a goofy foundfam that jokes around with each other and helps each other work through shitty situations, and that's EXACTLY what I got. (And Berseria really worked on me too because it kinda started at the bottom of the angst barrel, then worked its way up through "The edgy and tortured protag has gained a party of idiots and oh noooooo she's learning friendship and happiness.") Dezel's death is one of the few game deaths that just made me SATISFIED to watch instead of depressed because of the closure he got and the themes tied into his final moments and sacrifice. I loved going on this adventure, I loved the idiots who I went on it with, and I loved seeing what Glenwood had to offer me in world design the further I explored.

my canon OTP: There's not much for canon romance in this game, come to think of it. Just subtext and some flirting. So I'm blanking on if there actually were any canon couples at all.

Non-canon OTP: DezeRose! Which maybe can be considered almost-canon based on the amount of subtext, but still. It's adorable. (And it's the exact same dynamic as EiRoku except M/F and a thousand years later. I need these four to double date...the dual-wielding goofs with their edgy, grumpy Reapers...)

most badass character: Rose! Not only able to wield the Shepherd's Armatization powers, but also to be a dang good assassin on her own, able to hold her own against Heldalf before she even had her eyes opened to seraphim! Though a shout-out goes to Edna because her armatization was my favorite to play with. There's something just satisfying about bashing the enemy in front of you with a pair of GIANT FISTS

pairing I am not a fan of: RoseAli. To be honest, it was at one point something I kinda enjoyed as a third-tier ship for Rose (Dezel first, then Lailah in second). But then...Alisha's Story. I didn't actually purchase it, thank goodness, just watched it on YouTube, and it was the most grating addition that anyone could've made to this game. First of all, I can sum up the issues with Alisha's Story by reminding everyone that it canonized a secret entrance to Camlann that was much easier to get to and wasn't protected by Muse's sacrifice. But the real thing that hurt to watch was how far down they had to knock Rose and Alisha's friendship to get them to rebuild from scratch. Rose claiming she was never Alisha's friend because she's grieving Sorey? The two of them getting into a PHYSICAL FISTFIGHT over it? Nope nope nope. That's not my Rose. Even less my Rose is that whole scene where she...you know...pounces on Alisha to dress her in the silly noblewoman's dress, and it's framed like...let's just say it's really uncomfortable to watch if you don't know the punchline is just a silly outfit. Even though Alisha's Story isn't canon in my head, it still really killed any buzz I had for RoseAli. I will also say I'm not a big fan of Eizavie - first of all, EiRoku or bust in this house, and second, I have a little bit of a hard time seeing Zaveid as mlm due to how much he goes on and on about The Ladies(TM). (Though I could see Eizen as having a tiny crush on him, though. Just like "Oh no he's hot but he's connected to Aifread's disappearance help")

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Mostly just in Alisha's Story. I was mad about the aforementioned Rose stuff, but also...like...they undid Lunarre's original cathartic death, they did so to team him back up with Symonne and then do a whole fakeout that they had Maltran with them too, but Maltran is just an illusion and immediately after this, Lunarre and Symonne just decide "Yeah, we're not gonna work together anymore, have a nice life." Why does Maltran need to stay dead if LUNARRE somehow survived EXPLODING? And just...look to next question for more clarification:

favourite friendship: I just want to imagine that Maltran, Lunarre, and Symonne were weird evil friends. The kind who'd take artistic selfies and caption them "Murder and mayhem with my besties!". Maybe they even had a sibling dynamic. They were all pretty dang jaded, so I like to think they sat around sometimes talking about the things in this world that did them wrong. The reasons they were drawn to Heldalf. Heldalf himself wouldn't have cared, he would've kicked them around like disposable tools, but the three of them were too entrenched in his dogma to see it. Maybe if they met up again after he was off the board...then they'd sing a different tune. Realize they're all three better than this, and now they're gonna do things THEIR way, because remember when they made a three-point attack on Glenwood and Sorey was barely able to keep up with them wrecking Lastonbell AND Pendrago AND Glaivend? Remember when Lunarre and Symonne had each other's backs the night Dezel died? Now they can do what they want on their terms! And I just - I have many MANY feelings about these three.

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: Okay silly self-insert time but the thing is, Archibald Snatcher (The Boxtrolls) and Roman Torchwick (RWBY) are my two favorite parental f/o's (and also my OTP to end all OTPs), and I have this thing about how they'd be PERFECT crime dads to Symonne in particular because she's like a little, more theatrical Neopolitan. So there's a universe in my head where Symonne is basically already my little sister, and I look out for her - well, okay, she's a seraph with powerful Artes and I am a powerless mortal so really she looks out for me because "I suppose SOMEONE has to make sure you don't die" and I am grateful to her for it.

#tales of zestiria

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wheremytwinwatches · 4 years

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 6

Road Trip! Since the Elric’s need repairs (mostly Ed, since normally I think he could fix most anything with his Alchemy, but without his arm he can’t do it), they’re off to visit Winry. Let’s get started!

Narrator’s talking about how Scar went after Ed, and how our little baby was ready to accept death (cue heartbreaking shot of Al struggling to get up and stop him), but Colonel Roy Mustang intervened (or rather, Riza saved the Colonel's life and The Mighty Armstrong distracted Scar). The Elric Brothers realized the joy of being alive and were filled with Determination and decide to head home for a patch job. Episode 06: “Road of Hope” About time we had an optimistic episode, these last few have been depressing as all getout. Camera pans over a train-station (what, no [chugga chugga choo choo] caption? You disappoint me, show), Hughes raps on the window to Ed’s car to get his attention. The rest of Eastern Command were tied up with work, so the Lt. Colonel came by in their place. Ed’s grateful, but- YESSSSSSSSS! The post-credits didn’t lie, The Mighty Major Armstrong is indeed “sharing” a bench with Ed. And may I say that the man cleans up nice, that is a snazzy suit. Hughes says that The Mighty Armstrong’s there for protection, in case Scar comes after him again. Ed’s in no shape to fight, and hey that’s a nice touch, showing Ed’s empty sleeve wave around when he takes offense at being called a child. Speaking of, where’s the little brother? Oh. Oh my Leto. You stuck him in a box with the sheep?! Why?! Ok ok, maybe a half-wrecked suit of armor wouldn’t really fit in among the other passengers. But sticking him with livestock? Really? “I thought he might get lonely without a little company. *sparkle*” ...you are just the most peculiar mix of sense and cluelessness, aren’t you Armstrong? I mean, you’re not wrong, but still. Sheep, dude. One final salute between the three, and the train’s off. Away through the picturesque landscape we go, Armstrong reading while Ed takes a nap. The train makes a stop, Ed’s just starting to wake up when Armstrong notices someone walk by the train and crushes Ed in getting out the window. A Doctor Marcoh? Marcoh… does not look very happy to see Armstrong, goes sprinting away. Look, I know the guy can be a bit bombastic sometimes, that’s a bit of an overreaction. Armstrong says that he’s a talented State Alchemist from Central, who was researching into possible medical applications of Alchemy. But after the Ishvalan Civil War, he went missing? Like, he defected, or retired? Ed insists on disembarking, as a doctor might know some useful things about bio-alchemy. Fingers crossed it doesn’t end up like the last bio-alchemist they visited. The State Alchemists are in the city now, seems Armstrong’s the one carting around Al In A Box. They’re looking for Marcoh by showing a picture of the man, one that Armstrong drew? I’m as surprised as Ed that Armstrong’s such a good artist. Strong, a skilled Alchemist, reader, and now an artist? Is there nothing that The Mighty Armstrong cannot do? Ah, of course, “the art of portraiture has been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations.” The townsman they’re questioning says it looks like a Dr. Mauro to him. All the town’s previous doctors got drafted for the Civil War, but afterwards Dr. Mauro came. Further interviews with the townsfolk are all positive, about how he’ll see anyone and heal them with a big flash of light. Sounds like alchemy to me. Ed and Armstrong (and Al, he’s been pretty quiet so far) arrive at a house, Ed goes to knock on the door- What the Leto, dude?! Ed just opened the door, and Marcoh shot at him! He stands there with gun shaking, ranting that he won’t go back, that they’re here to silence him. Armstrong tries to calm him down. Then when that doesn’t work he flattens him with Al’s crate, to Ed’s displeasure. Now the four are sitting around a table, Armstrong’s talking about how when Marcoh left he took top-secret material with him. So he did defect? Marcoh says he couldn't handle it anymore, order or no order to “dirty his hands researching that thing”... What “thing”? Ed has the same question. The Philosopher’s Stone! Houston, we have confirmation that it exists! Marcoh took his research documents, and the stone itself. Does he have it?! Uh, dude? That’s a vial of liquid. You understand the difference between a solid and a liquid, right? Oh. OH. “The Sage’s Stone, The Grand Elixir. The Celestial Stone. The Red Tincture. The Fifth Element” The Stone is supposed to ‘create’ a liquid that grants eternal life, isn’t it? Along with the whole “lead into gold” thing. Nobody ever said that it was a solid, did they? Marcoh’s saying that just as the Stone has many names (Ed, don’t poke it! That’s a highly powerful substance!) it can take on many forms. But it’s not a complete product? Ah, so this liquid is an imperfect Stone, amplifying power but still having a limit. Like Cornello’s Stone, able to amplify his power but still fracturing in the end. Ed seizes on this knowledge, demanding access to the research materials. Marcoh is taken aback, and further shocked when Armstrong explains that his “child” is a State Alchemist. He tries to explain how many State Alchemists turned in their certifications after the War, and now a child… Ed insists that he has no choice, that if it’s a mistake then it’s a mistake that he has to make. Now the doctor’s examining Al, remarking how incredible it was that Ed could transmute Al’s soul. Maybe Ed does have the skills to produce a complete Stone. But still, Marcoh refuses to show his research and continue the Devil’s research. Not even Ed exclaiming that he’s already been through Hell can change the doc’s mind, who finally asks them to leave. Sad faces all around, the three SA’s walking away while Marcoh sits on a bed and thinks over Ed’s last words. At the train station waiting for their ride, Armstrong asks why Ed didn’t take the Stone from the doc, even if it was incomplete. Ed says he wanted it, but he and Al agree that they don’t want it badly enough to deprive the town of their only doctor. Aw, they’ve still got their empathy! And hey, we know now that it’s possible to make different forms of the Stone, the Elrics’ possibilities have expanded considerably. At least some good’s come out of this. And Armstrong’s not going to report back to Central? “I met a simple, small-town doctor today. I can’t see any real reason to report that.” Good for you, Armstrong! Oh hey, Marcoh’s here! And he’s handing over a map to his materials? This day keeps getting better! Doc wishes them luck, hoping that they will be able to restore their bodies. ...ok, what’s the catch? Way too much is going right for our characters. Is Marcoh secretly evil, setting up an ambush with the Goths? Did he already destroy his research out of guilt from the War? Will they find it, only to decipher a recipe for Ovaltine? What’s the catch? According to the note, the research is stored in the National Central Library. That’s not a bad place, one book in what I assume is a huge library would be difficult. But they have a clue now! Marcoh gets home, sighs- aw crap! Lust! I was kidding about a Goth ambush earlier, don’t tell me he actually is working for them! Well. I’m guessing this is the last we’ll see of the poor doctor. Sorry buddy! Now we’re at a familiar house, Automail sign out front. Granny, who I guess is actually Pinako based on the captions but I’ll keep calling Granny, calls for Winry who’s working away at a desk. At a mention of their “best customer”, Winry looks up. Outside, Ed and Al are greeting Granny, who just asks what they’ve done now. A common occurrence, this? Ed introduces the Major as- hey, the dog has an Automail left leg! That’s a neat touch! Armstrong’s shaking hands with Granny, then she steps back and remarks that it’s been a while, but Ed’s gone and grown- smaller. Hah! Still getting in the height jokes, eh Granny? But why would she say something so clearly untrue? Ed starts shouting-

Seems like Ed needs to work on the Five D’s. Here’s Winry! Yelling about how Ed’s supposed to call first when he’s heading back for maintenance. Hey Winry, looking good! Still got the aim from Episode 2 I see. She’s happy to see Ed again, even as Ed grouses about his head.

Uh oh, Winry is no longer happy when she sees the damage to her work. “A little smashed up” is a bit of an understatement, Ed. Winry is shaking in fury over her creation- wow, really Ed? “It’s basically the same; it’s just in smaller pieces.” Yeah, like you’ll be if you don’t stop antagonizing your mechanic, Ed! Winry gives that line the only response she can, and while Ed groans on the floor she asks Al how he’s doing, what trouble they’ve gotten into. Then she goes and kicks the Giant Suit of Armor in the helmet, sending Al down with Ed. Yeah, I gotta agree with you Armstrong. Best to sit quietly and drink your coffee. Granny’s checking Ed over, seems he needs adjustments to his leg too. Cue height teasing from Winry. But the arm’s busted, that’ll have to be built from scratch. Ed asks if it can be done in a week, Granny asks for him to give them some credit, says three days. Three days to build a new mechanical arm? I like this setting! Until then, Ed’ll make do with a spare leg. Winry gripes a little bit about this taking three all-nighters, but says since they need to get to Central ASAP she’ll work her butt off for them! (Aw, Ed’s blushing!) She does expect a fortune in rush order fees. Outside- well, Armstrong appears to subscribe to the Steve Rogers School of Log Splitting.

And we are treated to some magnificent shots of Armstrong at work as Al sits quietly, watching chickens. Taking the wood inside (come on Granny, turn around. You don’t know what you’re missing!), Armstrong asks where Ed’s hanging, seems he’s gone to visit Mama Elric. Shots of peaceful village music and shepherds waving to Ed, as Granny asks the Major what kind of lives the brothers are living. Aw, you guys don’t even send them letters? Come on, stay in better touch with the Rockbells! Armstrong remarks how Ed and Al are well known for their Alchemy, even in Central. And sometimes that gets them in trouble. But they’re strong boys, and Granny agrees. Awwww! It’s a picture of the Baby Blonds! Baby Winry’s dragging a surprised Al and begrudging Ed in for a picture, a smiling Mama Elric and stoic Granny behind them. That’s adorable. Granny goes on to explain to Armstrong that she’s been watching them ever since they were born, as a friend of the family. Their absent father was even a drinking pal of hers! But one day he “up and left the village, abandoning his wife and sons.” Why? Granny doesn’t even know if he’s still alive. (Mysterious Father continues to be Mysterious. And there’s the picture of the Elric family, the dad’s face covered up. Rude.) Then Armstrong asks about Winry’s parents. Ah, so this is how it was done in the manga? We know from Brotherhood’s second episode that they died in the war, but I guess this is when Armstrong learns as the audience surrogate. We do learn that they both were surgeons. Granny mentions that it’s time for supper, overrides Armstrong’s polite refusal by saying that food tastes better with guests, and adding one more person won’t be any inconvenience. Then Armstrong asks about the house that the Elrics grew up in. It’s gone, since- wait, they burned it down? “My guess is they did it because with no house to come home to, there could be no turning back.” Later that night, Ed gets back- GAH! Emotional Armstrong! Moved by the tale of the Elric Brothers, The Mighty Armstrong embraces the poor boy, who struggles to escape as Al, Granny, and Winry look on. “What unyielding love to try and bring your mother back to life! *sparkle* What a tremendous sacrifice to give up your arm in order to transmute your brother’s disembodied soul! *sparkle* What determination to burn down your own house…! To make sure… there was no retreat! *sparkle sparkle sparkle* Come Edward! *strip* Allow me to offer you this comforting embrace!” “Just stay back! Don’t rub your chest on me!” ...stay awesome, Armstrong. Next morning Ed stumbles out of bed to a buzzing sound, sees Winry working away at her table. Ed heads over and compliments her working so hard in the morning- “Been up all night.” Later, heads over saying she must be almost do- “One more all nighter.” Next day, Ed skulks up, looks around curiously until Winry gets fed up and tosses him out. Al, Ed, and Robo-Dog are all outside resting on the grass, Al counseling Ed to be patient while the older brother waves his arm and legs in frustration at knowing there’s a clue out there. Then winry comes out, new arm all ready to go! Inside, Ed’s grimacing while Winry and Granny count down, grits his teeth when the new limbs are attached. Guess it’s painful for the nerves to connect like that. Ed’ll be happy to kiss that pain goodbye when they get the Philosopher’s Stone, Granny says she’ll be sad to lose her biggest source of income. Meanwhile Winry… has an Armstrong Moment over the perfection of her automail. “Crazy gearhead.” “You’re lost without me, alchemy freak.” Mechanical Engineering versus Chemical Engineering! Fight! Ed does some flexes, as Winry talks about how she used a higher percentage of chrome to prevent rusting. Nice, functional and decorative! Although it won’t be quite as strong, so he shouldn’t do anything too crazy- too late Winry, he’s already out the door to fix Al. Armstrong’s asking if Ed can really fix Al right there, Ed says he can do it, but he has to be sure not to mess up the symbol inside the armor that binds Al to it. One hand-clap later, and the Giant Fanged Suit of Armor is good as new! The brothers have a little practice spar, and agree to leave for Central first thing the next day. That night, Ed’s snoring away on the couch, Al griping that he’s sleeping with his stomach out again. Granny jokes that Al’s the older one, to which he just says that someone has to look out for Ed. Winry brings a blanket over, and we get established ages of fourteen for Al and fifteen for Ed. Man, how long has Al been trapped in that armor? So much of his life, stuck in metal. Winry remarks that someone as young and small as Al… can be used as a human weapon. Winry, that’s not funny! That’s depressing! I thought I told you to be funny again, show! Now Al’s formally thanking Winry and Granny, always welcoming them like they’re really family. And Ed may not say it, but he feels the same way. “Granny… Winry… thank you.” Yup, right there with you, Armstrong. Right in the feels. Ed and Al are heading out now, Granny’s there to see them off. Winry’s not, since she’s stayed up three nights in a row. Now that’s dedication to your craft. The State Alchemists make to leave, Granny tells the boys to come back for dinner sometime, and Sleepy Winry waves goodbye from the balcony. Ed turns away and rubs his head before waving back. Say goodbye to Winry directly, you fool! Eh, whatever. I’ll badger him about my ship later. Credits! Aw, that was a sweet episode, nice respite from the downers of the last few. I mean, it wasn’t completely sunshine, I’m pretty sure that Marcoh won’t be making another appearance and we had to revisit the absence of Papa Elric and Winry’s parents. But overall, very nice. And you’ll never hear me complain about more Armstrong. Next time! Wait, nevermind. Back to Sleepy Winry walking down the stairs, complaining that she slept through almost the entire day and now she needs to clean up after human-tornado Ed. Then she finds a screw? “Whoopsy?” Uh oh. Don’t tell me Ed’s gonna lose his arm again next episode? You do realize he’s getting into combat, right? Or does she? I mean, they don’t tell the Rockbells what they’re up to. Now, Next time! “Doctor Marcoh’s notes on the Philosopher’s Stone were indeed in the place he said. But nothing is ever that easy. Unfortunately for the Elrics the Enemy is always one step ahead, leading the boys ever deeper into the maze of “truth within the truth.” Next time, on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-” Episode 07: “Hidden Truths.” “The only way to reach the destination is to never turn away.”

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranbuis #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 6

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ja-khajay · 5 years

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i know moebius is a graphic novel; is it like a continuous story that i should start with #1 or is it separate stories or is there just one very fat book or how does it work? Ive been meanin to check it out since i started followin your blog

Moebius is an author! Or rather his pen name, his real name was Jean Giraud. He was an illustrator and comic artist and his works signed as Moebius are my favorites because they’re often the weird colorful dreamy fantasy stuff! He’s done a lot of comics but if you like the ones I specifically post about here’s a quick rundown of the ones you should check out :

Arzak the Surveyor OR Arzach (theres like five different spellings)(i partially read) is a comic about a man who rides his giant white bird-plane over a desert he looks after. Sci-fantasy, I dig it for the lone warrior/wanderer trope as well as it’s world. If you cannot find the comics I also recommend watching the cartoon adaptation on YouTube, where someone uploaded it entirely with english captions - the cartoon is also family friendly (which the comic isn’t)

The Airtight Garage (i have not read it) is another of his famous comics. Don’t know much about it apart that the visuals are cool

The Incal (i have fully read!)(actually written by A. Jodorowsky, Moebius did the art)(18+) is a sci-fi comic who’s story is very hard to describe, being written by Jodorowsky. The main character is a private detective and grade A looser who finds himself in the middle of a weird intrigue surrounding an artefact called the Incal. It’s set in an imaginary cyberpunk megapolis with it’s own political/religious factions that’s very terribly 80s. You probably know the spinoff called Metabarons. If you liked Morrowind’s themes of doing wild shit and becoming God then it’s probably up your alley. (also theres a character thats basically Vivec, coincidence idk)

The Eyes of the Cat (i fully read)(also a collaboration with Jodorowsky) is a very short graphic novel with really cool art that pops up regularly on tumblr. Takes three minutes to read through and it’s rad

The World of Edena (i partially read) is a comic about two people just..? wandering around having space adventures. It’s as cool a world as Arzak’s but the fact you follow two characters makes it more human and less lonely. Very chill

42 days in the désert B is a collection of black and white illustrations based on the world Arzak is from. It’s pretty. If you do art check it out just for the inkwork because boy was Moebius good with that

Finally he also did concept art for (again) Jodorowsky, for the infamous failed film adaptation of Dune, a cowboy comic named Blueberry which I read as a kid but rarely post about, the Silver Surfer, a comic biopic that’s very fun to read, and a lot of short stories for Heavy Metal Magazine!

#moebius #my tag #internationalspacehobo #answered

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jenonojaem · 5 years

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To My Crush, With All My Heart. Part One.

(A/N) I feel like this is very long overdue and I apologise for not updating soon after the prologue. I hope this is up to everyone’s expectations! As I mentioned previously, this is based off an instagram edit I saw and gathered inspiration from! I’ve checked most parts but there still may be spelling errors/mistakes so apologies in advance for that! That’s all I have to say really! x

Genre: Fluff! Fluff! Fluff! Kinda cute & light hearted too!

Members included: Jeno, Donghyuck & Mark (they’ll all be introduced at one point muah!) This part mostly focuses on Jeno!

Word count: 2603

Warnings: there’s none, lovelies!

Dear Jeno,

It’s been two weeks since I watched you in a basketball game for the first time. Admittedly, I know nothing about sports nor am I athletic enough to even attempt anything that you can do. You’re an exceptional player and your team is so lucky to have you. At first I thought you were like any other sports team caption, full of yourself and no regards to how others around you feel.

But you aren’t like that, are you? You’re sweet, selfless, respectful and all around a decent human being who people overlook because of your god like face. That damned face. Everything about you, from the way you act to the way you look, screams perfection. From the fullness of your hair to the way you always greet everyone you bump into.

Perhaps you only act this way because of how many eyes are on you all the time. That’s what I try and tell myself anyway. We’ve only had a few brief encounters but each time you’ve been so gentle and polite. You’ve even offered your seat to me on the bus because I was struggling to keep my balance down all those twists and turns.

Not to mention you always smile at me. That beautiful, uplifting smile that I see on your face so often. The way your eyes smile with you is truly a breathtaking sight. They turn into what I can only describe as moon crescents that light up the world around them.

You-

“How much have you read?” my voice is shaky as I stand over Lee Jeno, captain of the basketball team, who just happens to be reading my love letter that somehow managed to get out. There’s no readable expression on his face, he looks dumbfounded, surprised. Despite wanting to run away and nearly doing so, I knew it was only right to come back and handle the problem head on. If there even was a problem.

Donghyuck sits beside him in silence, holding his own letter that he thankfully hasn’t touched. My heart aches as I realise that every intense feeling I’ve ever had for Jeno is now very much real in his head. That boy now knows everything that I felt for him and thought about him “Not much.” he finally replies, his tone soft and surprisingly calm. Gently, he slips the letter back into the envelope and hands it back to me “You have a crush on me?”

“No!” I deny, my voice filling the still empty cafe that will no doubt come alive at the wrong moment “Not now. I did.” with trembling hands, I slip the letter back into my bag and face Hyuck who looks like he’s trying to process this whole situation “Can I have that back too?” to my surprise he shakes his head and I watch as his grasp tightens around the note.

“I’d like to read it.” he admits, causing my whole body to break out in a cold sweat “Is it similar to Jeno’s?” with a soft sigh, I put my head down and nod slowly. Why would he want to read it? Is this a joke to him? Hyuck has always been the class clown, making everyone break out in a ferocious belly laugh due to his sarcastic remarks towards the teachers. That was one of the many reasons I adored him for weeks on end.

Jeno stands up, slinging his navy blue ruck sack over his shoulder and giving me a timid smile “Can we talk about this?” no, no we cannot. I try to concentrate on his question but soon notice that Hyuck is carefully peeling his letter open. Oh god. Now that I know that at least two out of seven boys have read their letter the feeling of being light headed soon hits back with force.

“I feel sick.” I mumble, not knowing that Jeno had caught onto what I said.

“Do you need to sit down? Some water?” his hand grabs a hold of arm, supporting me gently as though he can see that I’m moments away from passing out “This whole thing isn’t as bad as you probably think it is. I know you panic a lot, but really there’s no need.”

My eyes flicker between the two boys in front of me, both of their faces full of worry and concern “You don’t understand,” I begin, gripping onto my bag so tight my knuckles turn white “you aren’t the only two who I wrote letters for.” Hyuck’s eyes widen and I can see that the whole thing has finally now hit him.

“Damn, (Y/N), you a player-” Hyuck’s lighthearted comment is cut off by Jeno snapping at him.

“Not the time.” Jeno’s hand moves down my arm to hold my wrist, rubbing his thumb reassuringly around in circles “Who else got a letter? I’ll help you find them and get them back. But then can we talk?” why does he want to talk so badly? Oh my god-

In my head, I begin to recall the five other boys who have probably had a good laugh at my letter by now “Mark Lee, Huang Renjun, Na Jaemin, Zhong Chenle and Park Jisung.” Jeno slowly nods his head and looks over at Hyuck who’s now putting my letter down instead of choosing to read it at this particular moment. But there’s a cheeky glint in his eye that tells me I won’t be getting that letter back unread any time soon.

“They all have a lecture this morning, right? We we’re split into groups for it, they’re all group one.” Hyuck shrugged a little and got up from the table, unlocking his phone and scrolling quickly through what I can only assume is a list of groups. Finally he nods and looks at me with a sweet smile that should’ve calmed me like it usually does. However, the only thing I can think about is the fact they’re all going to be bored in that lecture and therefore decide to read that mysterious letter they were given this morning. And, hey, that’s my fight or flight triggered again-

. . .

The crowd for the lecture is huge and I can tell Jeno is desperately trying to find the five boys I mentioned who also got a letter. Hyuck had said goodbye to us both whilst leaving the cafe, saying he was going to be late for his one to one vocal lesson with Brianna. Everyone knew he had a wonderful voice but whenever he was asked to sing he’d always turn it down or try to change the subject.

I’d be lying if I said Jeno didn’t resemble a meerkat currently, his head turning in all directors as he balances perfectly on his tip toes. As if he wasn’t tall enough already. Just when I’m finally not anxious about this whole ordeal, I feel a hand on my shoulder that gently turns me to face them. Mark Lee. Jeno’s finally caught on to who it is and stops observing the sweaty group of teenage students for a moment. Both boys make eye contact for a brief second. I’ve noticed boys who aren’t really friends do that a lot. They stare each other down as though they’re trying to gain dominance over the other one. Especially when a girl’s around.

“Do you have a letter?” Jeno finally asks, looking down at Mark’s hands to see the only thing he’s holding is his phone with a watermelon case decorating it. Mark looks at me and nods, his expression somewhat embarrassed and/or sheepish.

“I actually want to speak to you about that.” he takes off his round, Harry Potter-esque glasses and pushes them onto the top of his head. His brown hair is pushed back off of his face and now I can clearly see his beautiful brown eyes that look as though they hold a whole universe in them “I haven’t read it yet because I literally just got it from Renjun. I was going to read it in the lecture but I was wondering what it was about? It’s your handwriting, right?” wait, why does Renjun have my letters?

Jeno’s obviously thinking the same thing as he furrows his brows and asks “Renjun gave it to you?” but then I remember Hyuck saying to Jeno that he got the letters from Renjun too. Before Mark can answer the question, the lecturer begins calling in the first load of students and I feel myself being pushed and barged past by the crowd. Stumbling slightly, my balance is regained by a strong arm wrapping tightly around my waist and pulling me out of the rush.

Jeno pushes against the tide and finally we’re able to breathe with the last few girls making their way into the hall “I didn’t tell Mark that I don’t want him reading it.” I sigh and look down at my shoes, feeling my first surge of wanting to run away from this whole issue “He won’t make fun of me, will I?”

There’s a short silence before he replies “I don’t think he’s the type to. Neither is Hyuck so don’t worry about him either.” he walks towards an empty bench where he takes off his bag and basketball hoodie. Underneath he’s wearing a plain white shirt that compliment his ripped jeans nicely. Stop checking him out, (Y/N).

“I’ve never wanted to yeet so much in my life.” I admit, aloud. Causing a small chuckle to come from Jeno as he opens his bottle of ludcozade. Earlier I had made him laugh in the cafe for a very similar reason-

It was a simpler time back then.

“I would yeet about twenty times a day if that were an option.” he adds, holding his bottle of drink out to me “Thirsty?” I smile shyly at him, taking the bottle and quickly skiving some of the drink before handing it back.

He’s been so nice to me since this whole thing. Maybe he feels sorry for me?

“You don’t seem like the type to yeet.” he sits on the bench and I look down at him. The sun’s hitting his features perfectly and the image reminds me of a beautiful oil painting you’d admire in an art museum. Jeno shakes his head at my comment, pulling a “are you kidding me?” expression.

“You’d be surprised.” I sit beside him, wiggling my feet as the brief silence between us eats me up inside “When did you like me?” he finally asks, and I can feel his eyes examining my face and body language. There’s no getting out of this one.

“Uh, I don’t remember exactly. I just know yours was the latest letter I wrote.” Jeno’s lips turn up into a proud smile, causing my stomach to fill up with butterflies “You wasn’t meant to read it. Like, ever.” I add on, my words coming out at the speed of light.

“I know. I’m sorry I read some of it.” there’s a rawness in his voice that tells me he genuinely feels bad. Remembering what was in the letter just makes me want to shrivel up into ball. He’s read all those cheesy statements that I thought were so romantic and thoughtful at the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he feels awkward and uncomfortable around me now... Yet, if he did, he wouldn’t be so inclined to help.

“Anyone would read a letter about them! I know I would.” I cross my legs and glance over at the lecture theatre. Mark’s probably already a quarter way through by now. If there’s a God above I ask that you allow the ground to just swallow me up right now. Literally, open the floor up and let me fall in. Anything to get away from this catastrophe that I’ve somehow brought onto myself. Let the almighty Jesus-

Jeno waves his hand in front of my face “You sure do zone out a lot, (Y/N).”

“What? Oh, yeah-” I twiddle my thumb nervously “Is that what you wanted to talk about? When I liked you?” Jeno tilts his head as though he’s oblivious to what I’m talking about; but suddenly it’s like a light bulb has lit up over his head and it’s all come back to him.

“Actually, I was going to ask how it was possible for someone to write all those nice things without even being friends first? Are you really that observant?” I’m ready to yeet now.

“You could say that...” my words trail off as I think of an excuse as to why I knew so much about him. Truth be told, Jeno was so popular amongst everyone that it was hard not to know so much about him “You’re Mr Popular, there’s not a lot people don’t know about you, you know?” his face turns up as though he’s cringing at my words followed by a small scoff that makes my heart drop.

“There’s more to me than people think.” he tells me, sincerely. Then I wonder if anyone in this college actually knows Jeno for who he is as a person “But hey, that’s college life for you. Do you still have my letter in your bag or did you yeet it somewhere?”

“I still have it.”

“If it’s not too much to ask, can I read the rest of it?” w h y.

“I think you read enough.” my tone of voice is obviously blunt and could be considered rude but in all honestly the more you read of the letter the more cringy it gets. I don’t want Lee Jeno sat in his bed and suffering from a major case of second hand embarrassment.

“I don’t. I was enjoying it.” he stands up and flings his back over his shoulder “You have a lovely way with words, (Y/N). Besides, you said yourself, who wouldn’t read a letter about them?”

I stand up with him, beginning to dig through my bag for his letter “If I give you it back do you promise to help me get the other boys to not mention it to anyone else?” his eyes and mouth widen as though what I’m asking is coming out as a shock to him.

“You think everyone’s going to make fun of you?”

“Duh.” I hand the envelope to him and for some reason he’s hesitant to take it.

“(Y/N), do you think I’m going to make fun of you too?” he holds the letter with me but doesn’t take it from my grasp just yet “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for someone else. You’d have to be the biggest prick in the world to consider making fun of you for that.”

Gently, he pulls the letter towards him and I let go “It’s just embarrassing. You expect love letters in cringy romance films, you know?” Jeno shakes his head and places his hands on either side of my shoulders.

“It’s sweet. Don’t worry about it. If anyone says anything I’ll stand up for you because I was lucky enough to get one.” excuse me, what- “Do you mind waiting for me after college? You won’t yeet, will you?” he raises an eyebrow and there’s a playful grin plastered on his face that tells me he’s trying to lighten my mood. Who would’ve known that the most popular boy at college could be such a sweetheart?

I nod and say “I won’t yeet. Thank you, Jeno.”

“Great.” and with a bright smile he turns away and begins to read where he left off.

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charlottephotographingthecity · 2 years

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Final Project “Life in a Bubble” Part I

My project is titled “Life in a Bubble”. My overall aim is to show the extreme wealth of some people and draw attention to the difference between the “normal” life and the life those people are living. I chose Harrods as the place to base my project on. Harrods is, as they call themselves on their website, the “world´s most famous (luxury) department store”. Entering Harrods feels like entering a different world. They have their own pharmacy, beauty salon as well as an Apple store. They have a wide variety of designer stores, as well as several food halls. It feels like one could actually live in Harrods and spend his life there. Harrods is known for their luxury and expensive items, attracting immensely wealthy families from all over the world. People who are able to afford a shopping trip there are so very rich, most of us cannot even imagine. They live a completely different life than the “normal” person, being able to ignore the outside and all the current problems going on and just live in their own bubble.

My idea behind this project is to show this life in a bubble through certain products that one can buy at Harrods. At first glance, the 6 items portrayed may look “normal” and affordable. But when taking a closer look, I want the viewer to experience how ridiculous the prices and items actually are. No “normal” person would ever consider paying such a huge price for those items. Since the products may look affordable and normal when just looking at the pictures, I decided to add captions to the pictures, stating the brand, the item and the price. I decided to make the layout look like it is part of a catalogue, using still-life photography by finding a clean, preferably light background so the focus lies completely on the item I photographed. The catalogue-like layout is supposed to show the viewer how those items are presented to the potential buyers in Harrods, to make the viewer feel like he is part of that bubble world as long as long as he is looking at the project. I want my photography work to be displayed in a gallery, preferably in a separate room. I want this room to be round and have a small entrance space. My aim is to really put emphasis on the life in a bubble effect. Since the art piece will be displayed in a small different room, people have to enter this new room, hence entering the bubble life and experiencing this glamorous world in this different room. The project should be displayed in the middle of the room, preferably being lit up from the behind to add this expensive effect.

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shirlleycoyle · 3 years

Text

Did Zack Snyder Draw A Picture of Batman Going Down on Catwoman? An Investigation

Over the weekend, director Zack Snyder—a man who Mr. Magoo'd his way into having control over the cinematic presentation of DC Comics for many years and is an avowed fan of Batman—posted an image of the Dark Knight performing cunnilingus on Catwoman. Since that time, I have not known peace. I must know who drew it.

Like the two women at the counter of the coffee shop where I bought the iced coffee that was necessary to begin this investigation, I am so desensitized to pornography involving cartoon characters that at first this image barely registered. The necessary context is that, apparently in response to the ongoing conversation about DC's decree that Batman canonically doesn't eat pussy, Snyder, who once directed a movie called Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and was for a long time as in control as anyone else was of DC lore, posted a drawing of Batman going down on Catwoman. He captioned it "canon." I guess!

As time went on, theories began to emerge about who drew the image. Snyder fans—and to be clear, he is a divisive figure in the multiple fandoms oriented toward and revolving around various DC brands—propose that he, personally, drew it. A major aspect of this theory is that Snyder didn't provide any information about the image when he posted it, at all. The image doesn't even have a signature. Running it through a reverse image search yields nothing from before Snyder posted it. The drawing seems to have appeared from the ether.

Representatives for Snyder didn't respond to requests for comment, leaving Motherboard unable to put the question of whether he drew this image of Batman satisfying his longtime love interest and occasional fiancé with his own hand. A Motherboard review of footage from the DVD extras of Watchmen—a movie directed by Snyder that I definitely saw in theaters and remember absolutely none of—suggests that Snyder is a talented draughtsman, and may well be capable of having drawn this image. We cannot definitively establish, though, whether or not he did so by putting the question directly to him, and so had to turn elsewhere in search of answers.

Logically, there are only so many options here. It's possible that, as some fans are beginning to think, Snyder drew it himself; it's also possible, though, that it's a panel from an existing comic book or a piece of fan art, whether preexisting or commissioned personally by Snyder. Roy T. Cook, a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota who specializes in the aesthetics of popular art, told Motherboard that it seems unlikely that it comes from something DC published.

"If this were from a comic, it would certainly be well known given its content, and hence would have been identified by fans or scholars by now," Cook said. "So it’s almost certainly a custom piece of art."

In theory this would narrow things down some, but the sheer ubiquity of Batman-related pornography means that there are still too many images to anyone to sift through. On the pornographic website Rule 34—named for the humorous "rule," which functions with the force and power of a basic law of physics, that anything that exists will also have porn of it on the internet—there are more than 400 images with both the tags "Catwoman" and "Batman." The image Snyder posted can be found there, but was only added after he tweeted it, and notes Snyder's tweet as the original source. It is not hard at all to find an image of Batman eating out Catwoman. Finding one that no one has ever seen before is much harder.

It's possible to inferentially establish that this image is unique to Snyder, whether as something he commissioned or as something he had unique access to and chose to put on the internet. The question consuming many fans, though, is the one of whether he personally drew it. Experts in comic book art doubt that he did. Both of the comic-art brokers that responded to Motherboard's requests for comment said that they definitely don't think Snyder drew it. Details noted about the art style offer food for thought.

"I would say that [Frank] Miller is most certainly an influence/inspiration for the style of the image Snyder tweeted. Dark Knight Returns and all. Gritty stuff," Douglas Gillock, vice-president of the comic art brokerage ComicLink, said. (He was referring to the writer/artist whose mid-80s Batman comics set the tone for all the many, many grim and bleak interpretations of the billionaire who does kung-fu at muggers that have dominated pop culture for decades. Miller's Batman comics have been critiqued as fascistic but could also be read as brilliant parodies of fascistic excess; complicating the question is Miller's later-career turn toward things like a comic where Batman murdered Muslims to avenge 9/11, which was rejected by DC and subsequently repackaged as Holy Terror, a comic where a thinly-veiled Batman stand-in murdered Muslims.) "I would also say that I also see some David Mazzucchelli here. He was an artist that was also influenced by Miller. He did the art on the Batman: Year One run, which Miller wrote. Pretty sure that is where that particular iteration of Catwoman's costume came from in the modern era too. A similar version was used for the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman animated series."

Gillock's interpretations seem correct. Notably, the outfit that Catwoman is wearing in the image that Snyder tweeted is purple—the color used in most Miller versions of the character—while many popular depictions of the character have her wearing black. It also features cat ears, which not all of her costumes have; this design was favored by Miller and used not only in Year One, but in a special wedding issue of Batman written by Tom King—a renowned comic book writer who spent much of his run on Batman making it canonical that Batman and Catwoman fall in love and get married with the insistent energy of a Livejournal poster embroiled in a shipwar—and featuring a Miller drawing of Catwoman wearing this exact costume.

Snyder's Miller fandom cannot be overstated. He directed 300, based on the Miller graphic novel. He recreated scenes from The Dark Knight Returns in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in exactingly specific detail, even where it made no sense to do so. Like Miller, Snyder has used his work to promote and exult in vaguely fascist iconography. (Unlike Miller, for Snyder the appeal seems to be mostly aesthetic.) Snyder's fandom for Miller is so intense and specific that the details in the shading, the coloring, and the costumes depicted in the image of Batman face down in Catwoman's super soaker pussy stand out as ones a fan steeped in Miller's work would not only appreciate, but commission or create, if they were able to. Especially on Selina's legs and head, the specific way that the image is shaded looks a lot like the way that Miller draws Catwoman. In both Snyder's tweet and the image from King's Batman, the shading on Catwoman's suit consists of black swirls and circles. (Miller's image is a lot more stylized than what Snyder posted, though, with Catwoman's spine curving exaggeratedly, like an actual cat's would.)

It should be noted that one thing we know about Snyder is that he's a passable artist, at least from the storyboards he's released for a few of his films. According to a profile in Bloomberg, he studied painting for a year before transferring to film school. It's difficult to tell, but when I look at this blurry screenshot of one of Snyder's sketchbooks where he shows off a drawing he did of Watchmen's Silk Spectre kicking a Nazi in the back of the head, it kinda looks like the same general body proportions as Catwoman as she's getting eaten out by Batman. In particular, both Silk Spectre and Catwoman have pretty sturdy thighs, though comparing a fully colored and inked image to a sketch is not going to yield conclusive results.

Image Source: League of Mayhem

DC, several art history professors, noted Snyder enthusiast Armond White, and Tom King did not respond to requests for comment. In absence of their authoritative input, as well as Snyder's, it seems Motherboard will never know for sure whether Zack Snyder spent the weekend drawing Batman eating box. But my friend and film critic Nadine Smith pointed out something important to me as I discussed this mystery with her: With any other director, this wouldn't even be a question. Snyder's fandom for comics, which somehow is for the exact opposite things about the genre that I admire, is nevertheless deep and powerful to the extent that he forced a major studio to release a four-hour uncut version of the Justice League fanfiction he filmed at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. He's always expected to do the most, and could not surprise anyone by doing anything that demonstrated the depth of his passion.

"If anyone else posted it, we would probably assume they just found some fanart," Smith told me. "But like, Snyder would."

Did Zack Snyder Draw A Picture of Batman Going Down on Catwoman? An Investigation syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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