glassesfreekjr

[glassesfreekjr]

S01E03: “Manhunt: Part 2″: Reverse-Mask

Should we pity The Hobo? I return again to the theme song. It’s a fair question whether the lyrics can be taken as a genuine expression of The Hobo’s innermost thoughts, or merely as some human’s imaginative, anthropomorphizing folly. And even if the words can be taken as the best English expression of how the dog actually feels, we still come up against the fundamental untranslatability of a non-human animal’s sensations or experiences. But let’s assume, as an exercise, that the lyrics are our best approximation of the mysterious Hobo’s preoccupations. The voice that’s always calling him has to be the voice of a human, since a dog can’t be said to have a voice, and even if it’s a vague desire he chases, that desire clearly appears for him in human vocal form. The call of domestication, as we’ve mentioned, is the most likely culprit. How does this haunting appeal affect him? “Down the road, that’s where I’ll always be.” He’s unable to live in the moment, as he’s always possessed by a mental displacement towards an as-yet-unrealized comfortable future entrapment. Perhaps part of him envies the house dog, who is nothing if not a creature living always in the moment, always beholden to the desire of that very instant, completely enrapture by the squirrel, toy, or potential for food directly in front of them. Of course, they are imprisoned within this endless moment. Unlike the ownerless Hobo, who can picture a Down The Road, think In advance. But that freedom also introduces melancholy, and the anxiety of displacement. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll finally settle down,” he thinks, but this is a grim thought, because he’s talking about sacrificing his own identity for the unshakeable call of domesticity, that suicide of the self. We know that Tomorrow is not something to look forward to, because, “until tomorrow, the whole world is my home” is a happy thought, made slightly dark only by the implication of its finitude. Of course, all these traps he fears, and many more beside, may be what he sees foremost when he looks upon human beings.

Maybe The Hobo pities us.

Part two of “Manhunt,” just the third episode of The Littlest Hobo, introduces wild plot twists and strong symbolism, and comes up with a pretty dark conclusion about humanity, as seen from the perspective of our mute hero (read the previous post to get caught up on the plot and discussion).

The first section of the episode involves our dog hero, named “Einstein” this time, helping the fugitive Tom escape, with the wounded Old-Timer (whom Tom rescued) in tow. Einstein does this through his uncanny knowledge of the physical world, using trees, logs, elevation, and improvised simple machines to outwit the pursuing forces, who are over-reliant on projecting their quarry’s thoughts.  

Thanks to Einstein, Tom manages to elude the pursuers, and drag the Old-Timer to the edge of a road, there to flag down a passing vehicle. Then comes the shocker. The Old-Timer produces a pistol and says that he’s turning Tom in. The man that Tom killed in self-defense was the Old-Timer’s nephew.  

Tom is aghast. As are we. The plot was already motivated by a tangled web of qualifying circumstances, with characters acting on partial information and assumption. Now we realize that we and Tom have also been victimized by partial information. The Old-Timer’s allegiance to his family is stronger than that to the man he’s just met, even if that man saved his life.  

The next we see, Tom is in jail, and completely crestfallen. He is only glimpsed through the prison bars for the next several scenes. The prison bars are, well, prison bars, but the visual insistence on them begs our consideration. What has trapped Tom, who sees himself as fundamentally unguilty and deserving of freedom, is the many compromising beliefs and allegiances that make up human existence. It is peoples’ insistence on sticking to things they can name – “family” and “the law” – rather than the confusing mess of verifiable evidence (which, as should be clear by now, we can only ever see imperfectly) that has trapped him in this situation.

The Old-Timer visits Tom in prison, and it’s a striking scene. First, we hear Tom pronounce that he is “innocent,” and that he “didn’t do it.” Notable, because what he’s saying isn’t exactly true – he DID kill a man, after all. But even Tom feels the need to wield language to boil down his experience into a sharper, if less accurate, point. Then, as the Old-Timer is waiting outside, he witnesses Tom talking to Einstein through the bars of his cage. “I wish you could talk,” Tom says to the dog. It’s not clear that the dog, on the right side of the bars, wishes the same. Then the Old-Timer comes in to tell Tom that, “regardless of everything else,” he does greatly appreciate what Tom did for him, out in the bush. Depressed Tom is unmoved. In his defense, the Old-Timer says, “the law is the law, and I have to answer to it, just as you have!” An unconvincing argument, given the circumstances. Even the Old-Timer seems to realize this, as he murmurs, looking around him, “I suppose that’s easier to say out here.” Hearing himself say “the law is the law” seems to be the moment that changes the Old-Timer’s perspective. The flabby tautology shakes him out of his rhetorical reliance on comforting language. Indeed, the Old-Timer is hobbling on crutches throughout this scene. He seems to become aware that he’s using verbal concepts like “the law” as a crutch to cover for his lack of availability to a messier narrative based in the observable world.  

So he sets out to correct that. Though keep in mind that he’s probably only doing this because Tom saved his life, not because he’s determined to exonerate his fellow man. More qualifying circumstances. Every experience and belief is a question of relativity (and now perhaps we begin to understand why the dog is called “Einstein”). The Old-Timer identifies this as the key to the case: Tom claims he was assaulted with a tire-iron before killing in self-defense, but the men who were there insist there never was a tire-iron. The Old-Timer only has to voice his suspicions out loud for the Hobo to come to the rescue, as is his wont. Einstein draws the Old-Timer out into the bush, and shows him where the tire-iron was hidden. The incriminating evidence has been recovered, and is passed from maw to hand.

The Old-Timer hobbles into the bar where the family of the dead man are playing cards. He throws the damning implement into the middle of their game. There’s a shot of the tire-iron clattering among the playing cards and currency. This represents what happened to the instrument when it was passed from the dog to the man. Playing cards and dollar bills are objects that are almost pure signification. By being placed among them, we see that the tire-iron has also been transformed into a signifying object. It is now not just a physical thing, but something that speaks, something imbued with a value and a meaning in the context of invented human laws and beliefs. The concept of “the law” locked up Tom, but now this “trump card,” played correctly, can be used to free him through use of the same concept.  

In the concluding scene, we see Tom as a free man. But he isn’t happy. He has clearly been transformed by the experience. In the flashback to the encounter in the bar, in “Manhunt: Part 1,” we saw Tom as almost blissfully confident in his ability to freely and guiltlessly interact with strangers. Clearly, after having been trapped and tortured by mitigating circumstances, after having been made a villain in the eyes of a man he saved, that is no longer the case. He can no longer believe in humans’ ability to interact justly with one another, and this is made clear by the remarkable final line.

Einstein trots off into the woods without a single glance behind him. Tom hollers his name twice, but to no effect. Tom looks sour, then growls this startling conclusion:

“That’s the only goodbye in the world worth anything.”

What on Earth do we take this to mean? Perhaps Tom is so disillusioned with the deceits of language and meaning that he no longer trusts any spoken sentiment, not even a “goodbye.” As harsh as it is, he prefers the pure, unsympathetic act of Hobo’s departure to any potentially false sentiment. It’s unclear whether The Hobo shares in his disgust. It is clear that he feels he has to leave. 

4 stars

[glassesfreekjr]

Tantalizing, but I shall respect your wish.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you hear the sound of a door opening... and you prepare to ride squidtastic grooves of your own design.

(Artwork by @angelhht. Reposted with permission)

What would a boss fight against Agent 8 sound like? When stripped of all the leitmotifs taken from other sources, whose music are we left hearing? Or are those motifs too intrinsic to remove? Would there be nothing left?

How could Project Memverse be expected to aid someone who can aid everyone but themself? Realistically, it can't — therapy isn't purely an external process. In order to reassert who they are, 8 must first find who they are, deep down.

And then beat the snot out of them. Yeah, that'll help.

(YouTube)

[glassesfreekjr]

Evacuate.

I'm breaking character to speak very seriously. If you're in Florida, do NOT ignore evacuation orders. If you have Floridian friends or family, tell THEM to get out too.

I'm begging you personally.

Back during Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall on the East Coast as a mere cyclone, my stupid ass did not evacuate. I watched it roll in, trapped on the upper floor by rising floodwaters. Vehicles became wrecking balls in the current. Pieces of houses were ripped clean off. The glass on the windows bent-- if the wind was any stronger, they might have shattered.

The storm outside painted the world pitch black. It was like nothing existed outside those bulging windows except rain and chaos. I could only hear the roar of the wind, interlaced by an irregular din of crunching, scraping, and crackling.

It was only when the surge subsided that I learned that those noises were the sounds of yachts and house boats that had been lifted out of the harbor. Unmanned on the current, they crashed into telephone poles, dug trenches in the roads, and ripped through the walls of houses as if they were cardboard. That could have been me.

It was one of the most terrifying ordeals of my life. I survived because I was lucky.

If you've been ordered to evacuate, get out NOW. If you're not scared of "a little rain," you will be terrified by the time it's too late. It will be because you're trapped by an inky black ocean of rising water, surrounded by broken glass and shrieking wind, your little island growing smaller and smaller until you're swallowed whole.

And, for the love of all that is good, IF you're trapped in that situation, DO NOT GO OUTSIDE. Stay where you are safe until you physically cannot. Treat the water with the same caution as if it is alive and wants to kill you.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep your loved ones assured of your wellbeing.

[glassesfreekjr]

Yo, small world!

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you hear the sound of a door opening... and you prepare to ride squidtastic grooves of your own design.

(Artwork by @angelhht. Reposted with permission)

What would a boss fight against Agent 8 sound like? When stripped of all the leitmotifs taken from other sources, whose music are we left hearing? Or are those motifs too intrinsic to remove? Would there be nothing left?

How could Project Memverse be expected to aid someone who can aid everyone but themself? Realistically, it can't — therapy isn't purely an external process. In order to reassert who they are, 8 must first find who they are, deep down.

And then beat the snot out of them. Yeah, that'll help.

(YouTube)

[glassesfreekjr]

What are your commission prices?

They were around $80 a pop, but as I increase in skill that price will likely go up. As it stands, commissions are currently closed as I focus on writing more orchestral works for my composition degree. Stay tuned, though!

[glassesfreekjr]

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you hear the sound of a door opening... and you prepare to ride squidtastic grooves of your own design.

(Artwork by @angelhht. Reposted with permission)

What would a boss fight against Agent 8 sound like? When stripped of all the leitmotifs taken from other sources, whose music are we left hearing? Or are those motifs too intrinsic to remove? Would there be nothing left?

How could Project Memverse be expected to aid someone who can aid everyone but themself? Realistically, it can't — therapy isn't purely an external process. In order to reassert who they are, 8 must first find who they are, deep down.

And then beat the snot out of them. Yeah, that'll help.

(YouTube)

[glassesfreekjr]

Some more PMD X Undertale stuff!

Here's some stuff with sans undertale from undertale

A small comic with Toriel

And some sketches for the fic Still the Sun Doesn't Shine! A fanfic about this AU/Crossover that has me personally enthralled ^^

[glassesfreekjr]

The Mystery Dungeon x Undertale crossover that came out of left field

Grovyle getting stuck in the Underground

The tutorial of the game becoming weirder

The Toriel section being a bit more awkward.

Frisk (with Chara by their side) becoming quite the sensation in Treasure Town (even the Great Dusknoir could be jealous by the attention they get!)

Dusknoir not realizing Frisk isn't Grovyle's altered appearance after some pokémon-turning-human shenanigans

Celebi trying to find Frisk's home

The shitpost that started it

It feels right to dump all I have for now and we'll see if more stuff gets added.

Check out this comic by @chubledoobles, as well!

[glassesfreekjr]

[glassesfreekjr]

If you told someone that this was written and recorded by the Triumvirate during their long-forgotten indie pop phase, why would anyone believe you?

YouTube

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Notes: Originally arranged as stage music for Flounder Heights back in February, before I realized the vibes were too off. The joke at first was that the original, antediluvian "amen break" drum loop somehow survived the destruction of Alterna and gained quasi-religious significance. If you listen really, really closely, you can hear ambient noise to that effect, as though someone recorded the sample off their laptop at the twilight of humanity.

And then Side Order happened, and with it came "CΘld StΘrage" and its blistering breakbeats, and everything was forever ruined. Unless you wish to entertain the notion that the Pinging Marciale is worthy of worship, and really, who WOULDN'T think that? Just look at it!

[glassesfreekjr]

"You realize that Octo Valley's energy crisis didn't go away when the Zapfish did, right? There are Octarians still scraping by down here — ourselves included. There's not enough power or hospitality to go around." "So what, are ya'll City of Ember-ing up in this beach?" "We're been taken hostage, Callie; please don't make it weird."

(Album cover, logo, and core concept by @aviivix. Thanks for the commission!)

---

Composer Notes: All that blistering percussion is from Indian dappankuthu, (lit. “drum punch”) which has grown into the street-pop staple of Kollywood (not to be confused with Bollywood or Tollywood). Since the heavily-processed samples of Octoling Rendevous are so Indian-flavored to begin with, the collapse of the Octavian regime (along with Octo Valley civilization itself, quite literally) means these inspirations are free to finally "let loose," so to speak. (I'm a bit worried that the common interpretation will be that the Octolings this piece is about are "wild" due to all the foreign percussion. Really, they're just trying to get by in a world that has failed them.

the Culture Shock AU is wild, ya'll.)

YouTube

[glassesfreekjr]

great post on the ch13 situation- i've been super disappointed in the way a lot of the discussion has shaken out. very "tumblr reading comprehension".

as a side note the requirement for trans people in Japan to be sterile in order to receive legal recognition was recently declared unconstitutional (since you mentioned that in there)

Oh absolutely! I've been seeing a ton of that discourse and it's very disappointing to see that not everyone wants to accept there is nuance in this discussion.

That sterilization part was something I found out right before I posted my statement but ended up not adding in. It is still very telling that this is a recent thing and what it might develop into is yet to come.

[glassesfreekjr]

Hot take but I think what we saw in chapter 13 was necessary.

I don't think a lot of people realize how important it is for Araki to portray what he did, even if it extremely difficult to take in. Let me explain.

Araki has discussed about topics like racial and class disparity through both Steel Ball Run and Jojolion, but JOJOLands is different because the discussions are now very direct. We had Chapter 1 open up with police brutality and Chapter 13 open with intense bullying; both acts were committed by people of higher social standing/power and seemingly White (or white passing) and both are harming a dark-skinned queer individual. Not only that, remember that Hawai'i is an island stolen and colonized by the US and many indigenous individuals who were supposed to live and maintain kapu are being forced to endure housing problems, loss of culture, etc. due to gentrification and exploitation of its lands. 2020 was when we saw global protest towards the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor due to police brutality, which has spread as far as Japan in terms of demonstrations and rallies. Araki has made it clear that he tries to take real world experience into his writing, and this is no different. He is also no stranger to portraying law enforcement throughout his parts without glorifying or downplaying their behavior.

As a mutual of mine (who themselves identify as a black GNC individual based in US) has put it, those who identify or even appear as Black while identifying as trans-femme or women are subjected to some of the worse kinds of oppression possible in America. Queer women of Color are one of the most susceptible to sexual violence-- especially when they are young, and the darkness of their skin really plays into it. This is transmisogynoir; it is a hard pill to swallow and acknowledge, even if it feels excessive, and its a multilayer of oppression that connects a person's racial identity, gender, and sexuality as targets of discrimination. It's the fact that one is POC, a woman, AND queer that makes one a target--- not just one or the other. You can’t turn a blind eye to this because it happen constantly throughout America's history and American society even today, but you can't simply water it down or downplay it. In fact, many victims of transmisogynoir have no choice but to downplay their experiences because of their Black identities or because they appear too dark to be taken seriously; when they, especially if they are Black, try to hold people in power accountable, these individuals are suddenly labeled aggressive, indignant, etc. and they are further discriminated for attempting to speak up. Dragona downplaying the bullying isn't them just trying to avoid further conflict but a reflection of how many who were in similar situations like Dragona are forced to simply forgive and forget the trauma they have to endure. To downplay it ourselves is reinforcing the narrative that individuals like Dragona in real life should remain silent and endure their harassment rather than rightfully protect themselves and others from it.

Another thing to add is that the way Japan portrays and treats the LGBTQ community, particularly the trans community. In Japan, the process to legally change your gender is complicated and requires a lot of steps that include, but not limited to, being diagnosed with gender identity disorder, proving you have no kids/guardianships, and sterilization. This causes a lot of individuals to be forced to quickly transition as a means of getting their gender recognized, which takes away the time to let them explore at their own pace, and this is due to how the process can lead to hindering career and life opportunities that wouldn't be hindered had they already transitioned or stayed closeted. Many Japanese trans individuals unable to go through the process quickly either remain closeted or move away from Japan to transition at their own pace. So, as a result, the trans community and its struggles is not as noticed compared to outside of Japan. Another thing to add is that the trans community in Japanese media is often portrayed as comedic relief or a gag. Oftentimes, the trans character or character who diverts from gender conformity (i.e cross-dressing, acting more flamboyant) is the butt of the jokes. Some thing to note is that, when Dragona was first introduced, a lot of people thought that Araki put Dragona in simply for comedic purposes. I had people joke about how Dragona is just there because they believed Araki is trolling. Not only that, the racial issues that Japan has often results in jokes towards non-Japanese individuals in media, especially if they are of darker skin color.

So, Araki putting Dragona in these difficult situations is also meant to subvert expectations that his Japanese, and possibly Western, audience may be expecting. The expectation was to laugh and toss Dragona aside as a single-dimensional character, but Araki instead forced us to face the trauma through Dragona's experience head-on. We are made aware of Dragona's situation, how real and difficult the struggle is, and we end up emphasizing with it rather than laughing at it. Through this, we get a glimpse into real life experiences of trans POCs without it being downplayed and have it show how Dragona is a fleshed-out character with importance to the series. As some have put it, this chapter proved that Dragona isn't just a side character but arguably a complex individual on the same level of importance as Jodio. I don't think it would have been easy to have the same impact if another approach was taken.

While talking to others who identify as trans and/or GNC about their thoughts on the chapter, I was told by many of them that, while Dragona's experience hits close to home and was hard to digest, they appreciate seeing it being expressed and hope it will help other people understand their struggles. One noted how the introduction of Smooth Operators with the backstory as empowering, seeing the Stand as a symbol of surviving the trauma that comes with trans discrimination. I do find this a bit telling with how many people online who are against Araki's portrayal barely mention what trans/GNC people have said about it.

My main concern, as well as what I see people have rightfully critiqued, is the excessive trauma reinforcing the fetishization and violent voyeurism towards trans individuals; it also reinforces the problematic narrative that dysmorphia can only happen as a result of trauma and the trans experience can only be full of pain. There's also the issue that Dragona's experience also happened while they were under age and their harassment is similar to that of Lucy. It's a common trope in Western media to put marginalized people into these situations while upping the ante simply for clicks and pleasure, and even worse when the character portrayed is a minor. As I reiterate, it is a very uncomfortable chapter to read and I don't find it enjoyable at the slightest. Just because I understand why it is necessary doesn't mean I condone the approach done. I also understand Araki as a Japanese man can only relate and portray a queer American's experience to an extent. But, at the same time, the exposure was necessary because it gives us the awareness and a voice to trans people that is lacking within media even today. We need to be aware and acknowledge what our BIPOC trans community goes through as a means of being better humans--- and especially our younger community members. We need to make our society safer for them so they can thrive and have the respect they deserve. Oftentimes, that starts with how they are portrayed and how their experiences are portrayed. While it is still a journey and not every representation will be perfect, we can't simply toss it aside and bash those who try to show something realistic just because it is uncomfortable.

I only hope that Araki wrote Dragona and these scenes as a result of doing extensive research and reaching out to actual POC queer individuals, particularly transfemmes/women, to understand their experiences and have their blessings to use their words to shape Dragona. I feel like that would show that Araki was serious about discussing these issues through his characters rather than simply using Dragona's traumatic experience it for entertainment. I have higher expectations for Araki now, knowing that it may not be the last time he shows a character experience harassment and possibly have Dragona be harassed again, so I will keep my eyes open for this.

[glassesfreekjr]

hi!! im the anon who asked to use your music in a playlist! i thought maybe you'd wanna know how the slowed versions of the songs you made turned out in the playlist :> https://youtu.be/KLJwagDhAVY?si=a5Eo4qz-s7ib2npS

(also i saw the recent premieres!! they were really good as usual!!!)

ooooh they're slowed, this ought to be interesting!

[glassesfreekjr]

Brass Catfish is an all-jellyfish big band ensemble, hailing from the same music conservatory as Ink Theory but becoming nowhere near as notable. But, as one ensemble member has stated, not all music needs to be notable. This has not stopped people from splatting each other senseless while it plays in the background.

[glassesfreekjr]

(Oxygen Tank and its members belong to and were created by @twipsai. Used with permission — thanks for letting me borrow them!)

Retraction: We at Hikara Walker would like to apologize to Oxygen Tank and its fans for insinuating, due to insufficient research, that their origins lay in pirate radio. Unlicensed radio broadcasts, if set on frequencies close enough to licensed ones, can cause interference which screws with radio reception. This is prevalent in the Splatlands and has been known to disrupt Big Run early warning systems — infamously resulting in the sacking of Inkblot Art Academy during March of last year. Rather, Oxygen Tank aired their first performances over the Ethernet radio channels of the Deep Sea Metro before spreading their reach topside. These transmissions were inadvertently picked up by underground Octarian domes via faulty electronic cables, resulting in repetitious illegal broadcasting therein. If the heavenly melody of the Inkantation sparked the downfall of a regime, then others, including Oxygen Tank's Ral-Hula-Loo (first rec. Museum d'Alfonsino), served to fan the fire by complete happenstance. (Reportedly it's rather embarrassing for them and they'd rather not talk about it. But that's journalism, baby — eat our shorts.)

Hikara Walker, Mar. 122024 issue

(Sample source list can be found on my YouTube.)

[glassesfreekjr]

(Oxygen Tank and all associated artwork belongs to and was created by @twipsai. Used with permission — thanks for letting me borrow them!)

Band: Oxygen Tank Single: Eat Shorts Kanabo Description: In stark contrast to the absurdity of the title — or in part because of it — this fresh-cooked shibooyah-kei tour de force succeeded, improbably, in propelling Oxygen Tank away from its beginnings in pirate radio into subtle mainstream recognition. The artist behind this unorthodox title, hailing from the Deep Sea, is "usually pretty chill" according to fellow bandmates, and contributes the distinct musical vibe from over there into Oxygen Tank's melting pot oeuvre. Perhaps it was in experimentally straying from that wheelhouse (with the support of said bandmates) in order to "say what needed to" that has made this fresh bop the default BGM of back alleys everywhere.

Hikara Walker, Feb. 122024 issue

(Sample source list can be found on my YouTube.)