Time to be self centered for a moment:
Me and the guys 🥹🫶
I still can't believe that I was able to meet Bojan, Nace and Jan last weekend (how is it already a week since Malmö OVO) :'D
They were so freaking humble and easy to talk to?!? 🥺🥺🥺
Bojan and I 'are you'ed each other for at least half a minute xD The love is really stored in the Bojan - the way he just gives you his entire attention when you talk to him OVO Plus he remembered my Häärijä cosplay from Helsinki, let me die happy now 😭🥺
Nace is such a lovely turtle dad proudly talking about his babies (I can relate to how much he talks with his hands) and his laugh is even more contagious in person 🥹 Loved that we in Gothenburg ended up wondering over the question 'what is each JO members signature picture pose' together; Nace and I showing off the Jan pose for the last picture x'D
Speaking of Jan, the poor boy had lost his beanie in Gothenburg (not pictured) so he had a scarf on his head :'3 he too was very nice talking to and me and another dane managed to spread the 'please come to Denmark' propaganda 😂
Jan and Nace both got little 2 min. pen doodles from me that I drew with frozen fingers and in a rush (didn't know how long they'd stay) and bless their heart for being genuinely happy to receive them :'D Nace did also get a second Malmö sticker just so I could see his reaction x'D (I'd sent Bojan off with gifts to all the boys during soundcheck and Nace confirmed he had gotten his and it was on his laptop I believe :'3 <33)
(Since I ran to Bojan I was too late to meet Kris in Malmö, and Jure stayed by the bus smoking which I respect)
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@raventhekittycat
hi okay so I've been mulling this one over for the past day or two and I think I have the answer. not to be using hamburger to explain anything to an american but you're my detco mutual so I'm going to try and explain it in detco terms
There's a post going around recently about how if you've read detco and only detco, the first time hakuba shows up you're going to be totally flummoxed, because damn this guy is clearly important, he gets to be even cooler than Shinichi, he's got a half-page shot of him (in such a panel-dense series such as Detective Conan, no less!!) and he's got a fucking hawk. he's CLEARLY important. everything about the narrative is indicating that you need to PAY ATTENTION to hakuba and that he's the coolest guy and he's important!!!! and then he dies in the case lol (not for real. but still.)!! and you're like huh??? what was that. why did aoyama do that.
But with the context of magic kaito this totally makes sense. He's a beloved character that people have been waiting decades to see again. Of course Aoyama is going to hype him up!! It's his big moment after years of being locked in the backrooms!!!
Anyways reading birdmen for me was kind of like that. The author's previous series, Kekkaishi, was pretty one-dimensional at the beginning, and even after the main plot started picking up at around volume 6, it still felt quite understandable. I knew what she was trying to get at, and the spectacular job she did with the anthropocene and climate change metaphor towards the end of that series really made me interested in the rest of her works. That and the way she writes familial relationships is absolutely DEVASTATING. (I mean this with the highest of praise)
But when I read BIRDMEN for the first time, I was probably in... middle school, maybe? And I read it, sure, but I didn't get it. I could see what was literally happening on the page but the narrative choices were absolutely baffling at times. Why skip over the entire part of the plot where they figure out who the birdman that saved them was? She blatantly doesn't care about that. What does she care about then?? I knew I didn't get it, I knew there were parts of it that were important and I couldn't figure out why and THAT'S how it dug its pretty little claws into me. Even after I finished catching up it nagged at me a little bit, not often at all, but enough that every once in a while I go, huh, right, that was a thing, let me go read it again.
For the record this type of story haunting has happened to me twice. First time was the Heart of Thomas, second time was BIRDMEN. I think the thing is that these are both stories which are not what other people say they are and I think I came into both of these stories with a misconception, trying to look too hard for things that weren't important and therefore missing the things that were.
Because sure, BIRDMEN is about mental illness. Yeah, it's about an evil scientific organization growing mutants in a lab. Yeah, it's about what it means to leave your humanity behind. That's all technically correct, on a surface level, and the fandom at large likely agrees with these takes for the most part, but in my opinion none of that really delves into what the thematic messaging of the story is about.
There are cryptic conversations about authority and human extinction and peculiar outfit and ability choices. You can tell these choices weren't made to serve the purpose of "writing exciting shonen manga" because that was what she did for the most part in Kekkaishi and you can tell she wasn't putting her whole pussy into doing that here. So what was she doing? What's like. All of this. Waves my hands at this.
The short answer is that it's really about the interplay between capitalism (represented by humanity) and communism (represented by birdmen), and explores the role institutional white supremacy (EDEN) plays in enforcing capitalism. It is ALSO about queer liberation and the importance of community, but hey, that double-stacks conveniently with the communism metaphor.
But also take this opinion of mine with a grain of salt. As far as I know I'm the only one who really truly deeply believes that it is not only AN interpretation of the work, but one that was fully intended by the author.
So basically, I like it, because I think it says something true and beautiful that I also believe in, even if I didn't have the words for it the first time I read it. But I don't really think that's what people really look for in a media recommendation.
Do I like it? Yes, I love it. Will I recommend it to others? Yeah, sure. But do I think it's deeply flawed? Yeah, absolutely. It's flawed in the same ways as The Witch from Mercury— a rushed ending, too many threads that were opened and never tied together. The pacing and characterization is perfect in the beginning, and too rushed at the end. There are prerequisites you basically HAVE to read in order to understand the story (tempest for G-Witch and the communist manifesto for birdmen). I think a truly good story wouldn't have any of these things so if people don't like it I never blame them.
It's my personal experiences that make birdmen so profound to me. If you are not queer I just don't think Eishi coming out as a birdman to his mom will hit the same, just as an example. Sorry that I wasn't the kid you wanted me to be. I know you love me and you just want the best for me and that's why you're so controlling, because you think I can be saved by conforming to societal expectations. But I can't live like that. I can't be like that. And that's why I must go. etc.
Aesthetically I do love birdmen a lot. If I had to describe it in a few words it would probably be "chilling", "beautiful", and "powerful", which nicely coincides with the type of things I personally like to draw. It's also silly to a small degree but it's so serious and I know Tanabe can be way way way funnier (read kekkaishi for this. kekkaishi and hanazakari no kimitachi he were foundational to my sense of sequential art humor) so that's not really the standout trait of this series.
I can't let it go because I'm chewing this series like a bone. And it's taking me years but I am getting that sweet sweet marrow. By god. We are on year 3 of this shit and I am GOING to understand this series. and I'm going to make 3 video essays about it
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FIGHTING STYLE ANALYSIS.
bold what often, or always applies to your character. italicize things that they will sometimes do. and strike out options that they would never do. repost, don't reblog.
• fights honourably / fights dirty
• prefers close - quarters / prefers range
• chats during / goes silent
• low pain tolerance / high pain tolerance
• attacks in bursts / attacks steadily
• goes for the kill / aims to disarm / fights defensively / strikes first
• is provoked easily / provokes their opponent / teases
• gets visibly frustrated / shouts while attacking
• uses strategy / focuses on the battle / experiences conflicting thoughts during battle
• rushes in recklessly / tries to read their opponent before engaging
• fights wildly / fights calmly / fights apathetically / fights with anger / fights with excitement / fights with delight
• fights because they have to / fights because they want to
• fights without regard to wounds / runs away when wounded / hides wounds / takes a blow to protect another
• prefers a blade / prefers a gun / prefers hand to hand combat / prefers a bow / prefers a shield / prefers a personalised weapon / prefers magic, alchemy or spells
• their greatest weakness is physical / their greatest weakness is mental / their greatest weakness is emotional
• transforms for battle / fights as they appear
• relies on strength / doubts their strength / relies on speed
• uses everything they have / proceeds with caution / hides their full potential
• exhausts quickly / has high stamina
• behaves arrogantly / brags after landing a hit / belittles their abilities
• uses psychological tactics / uses brute strength
• tries to avoid civilians / strikes down civilians
• damages surroundings / avoids damaging surroundings
• signature fighting style / makes it up as they go
• mastered skill - set / learning their skill - set
• fancy footwork / sloppy footwork
• messy fighter / elegant fighter
• accepts defeat / refuses defeat / begs for mercy
• compliments their opponent / insults their opponent
• uses unnecessary movements / moves efficiently / barely moves
• prefers to dodge / prefers to block
• defends their blindside / has no blindside / leaves blindsides vulnerable
• uses all available advantages / strictly uses one main method
• plays around / holds back / fights ruthlessly / shows mercy
• waits for an opponent to be ready / strikes when opponent isn’t ready
• fears death / fears pain / fears killing
• has ptsd / avoids fighting
• has lost a fight / has won a fight
• has killed / refuses to kill / enjoys killing
• wants to die standing / would succumb slowly
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outside the sanctum of lady edelgard's parlour - that birthplace of so many plots through the years - how absurd it seems. but now several seasons since the long war's end, needs be that someone go to leicester. the gesture has grown necessary, and ultimately, it does have to be him.
"and you. I want you with me," is how hubert concludes. simple is best, perhaps. ferdinand sits very still before him, hand over mouth. "look - this was never my idea. but I also can't downplay your role. I hope I've elucidated how valuable your presence would be."
"you - you really have. I," and he takes a strong sip of wine, then another. (hubert pours a generous replacement.) "excuse me." he then moves to the adjoining room, and paces rapidly for a good many minutes.
this is as difficult for me as it is for you, is what hubert longs to call, fingers pressed to his temple. but he has already put that mortification aside out of necessity, and his duty now is to affect total calm. he must not distract from the seriousness of the endeavour, nor the confidence lady edelgard has imparted in them.
ferdinand doesn't need to know that he needed a full day to process the idea.
"hubert, dorothea once confided in me a worry. that if I were to wish you marry, whosoever I commanded you take as your partner you would accept. well, I ask you now to put on the act."
a ~17k T-rated ferdibert fic for the “fake dating” prompt 🧡 🖤
link!
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