#;conflicted constrast

[windser]

hear me out nerds, falling back into my unhinged despair about sylus—

he has the BIGGEST praise kink but listen its not obvious because as the leader of an illegal organization, he hears a lot of noise (most of it bs from his followers, plenty of news never hitting the mark, and god if he hears one more of UNICORNS complaints he might really give them someone to complain about) but the point is he hears a lot. yes, some of it strokes his ego. he knows he's powerful, he knows not many people could take him (in a fight), he knows he's untouchable

and then you literally touch him, and suddenly he doesnt know

and it starts off as the lightest touch when he steps too close and you press him back with the flat of your hand. he allowed it out of humor and now jokes on him, he's pushing back just to hold onto the warmth

the praise comes as a result of you just not acknowledging his feats properly?? like everything from your mouth sounds like an afterthought? a shallow acknowledgement? like 'yes, you could probably pin me. do you want a star for it?' and this dumb big man for the first time is like 'yeah, maybe i want a star for that?' like thats the first spark where he viscerally needs that approval from you, like, yes i could pin you so good if you just asked

and it literally just spirals from that. we know the man can cook, and seemingly well if he can causally take over the work of an absent cook. but he basically throws his whole menu to the side and wants to know alllll about what you like to eat. pasta? let him know what obscure, distant village in the mountains that has this very particular taste because of a native spice... he will master is just to hear that little hum of satisfaction from your lips. you know he asks ;is it good?' and this sad sack doesn't even need a verbal 'yes' just nod and he's already scheduling that dish into his routine for you

and oof in bed? this man has learned how to read every signal and reaction from you. he watches your gaze for permission when to touch, listens to your moans for where. he HAS to get it right EVERYTIME just so he can hear 'yes, sylus, like that' 'you feel so good sylus' or his absolute favorite that triggers his explosion every time 'good boy, sylus' and when you yank on his collar ???? pls he'll roll over and sit for you in like 100 different positions

[kyouka-supremacy]

this is related to your ask about akutagawa as a failed protector (super interesting answer btw), you said you wanted a story where atsushi loves akutagawa despite his evilness- but do you think that’s possible? or are you talking about him trying and failing to be good which atsushi acknowledges and loves?

from my perspective, atsushi could only love akutagawa when he’s making good decisions and trying to be good, when they first met he was the embodiment of evil and atsushi was ready to put a round of bullets in his back and later on the ship he hits him full tiger arm and leaves him on a ship set to explode (not saying he was wrong for that, just emphasising his hatred for that sort of evil that crushes the weak- which the headmaster also represented), he even states that it is akutagawa’s inherent evil nature that led to him being deservedly abandoned by dazai and he says so twice. he thinks fighting akutagawa will also lead to him being freed from the headmaster since akutagawa still represents the headmaster’s evil and philosophical, dominance over akutagawa is him rejecting that world view. (btw not saying that atsushi doesn’t care since he does save him several times and we get the riding scene👀 after he sees akutagawa being upset just about his actions toward akutagawa’s evil nature-he’s willing to kill to be rid of it without any conflict-> although his life was also on the line but there’s no remorse for the second- again not a bad thing, just a thing that exists)

it’s only after akutagawa saves him and shows evidence of being good (not killing aya) that he literally pulls his punches in constrast to before, and that began with akutagawa fighting alongside him and giving him support physically but also kinda emotionally. it’s not a 1on1 comparison but akutagawa can give his ability to his enemy and leave himself defenceless but atsushi couldn’t do the same (i.e. fight in front trusting akutagawa’s cloth defence)- so it depends on akutagawa softening first- i see it as a more reciprocated love, conditional on him being good to atsushi/good in general, but even then atsushi can’t fully trust him, he’s surprised at the random guard being alive because he doesn’t believe that his evilness can change until he’s shown direct proof.

sorry i yapped a lot but basically i think atsushi can’t ever love fundamentally evil being, he doesn’t even fully believe that sort of evil can change (until akutagawa shows him) and he can’t give unconditional goodwill toward that sort of evil either. (with kyouka it was always clear that she didn’t want to do this, she was being used as a means for someone else. she did have a talent for killing but jusf having that desire to NOT kill shows her nature- atsushi first saw her trying to be different-> hence she was easy to love.) akutagawa has to be good to earn his trust/affection.

Thank you for your insightful commentary!! This is a perfectly agreeable and canon-supported position. My personal interpretation of Atsushi's character doesn't quite align with it as you are going to see, but your take is likely to be even more faithful to canon than mine.

Can Atsushi love Akutagawa despite his evilness? Does he love Akutagawa for the sole action of trying to be good? For how I see it, how good or evil Akutagawa is matters to Atsushi a lot less than Atsushi himself believes it does. Atsushi loves Akutagawa, loves Akutagawa, it doesn't matter if Akutagawa is good or evil or trying to be good and failing. And that's because Atsushi is just one big hypocrite, because he himself doesn't act good for goodness' sake. Atsushi's paradox is that he only does good because that allows him to live; there's no true good, true altruistic inclination in it, and when one only does good for selfish reasons¹, I struggle to call it doing good at all. Not in the conventional meaning of doing good vs. doing evil, anyway. So why would Atsushi hate Akutagawa for being evil when deep down not even Atsushi acts out of pure goodness? I think this is further proved by Beast Atsushi being who he is: despite their upbringing being the same, Beast Atsushi turned out to be someone who works for the side of evil with no particular remorse. That further shows how Atsushi doesn't care that much about what side is morally virtuous. He will call Akutagawa a monster for killing people, and then he will point a gun at him. He will call Akutagawa evil, and then he will not do anything truly good himself. He is just one big hypocrite.

But watch out, Atsushi believes he does good. He believes he hates Akutagawa because he's all evil and he can't stand that; he believes that he's good, and that Akutagawa is evil. Atsushi is simply not honest with himself on the real reason why he hates Akutagawa, which includes:

Hating him for hurting his friends;

Hating him for the way he treated Kyouka, that triggered his “people can't live unless someone tells them ‘it's okay to go on’ ” complex;

Hating him for the vague nauseous feeling that Akutagawa is like himself, and thus being disgusted by thinking he has that kind of evil in him;

Hating him for being the assigned embodiment of evil; protecting the weak, defeating the ultimate evil, is all the validation Atsushi needs to live.

The last point is the most important of them all. Atsushi hates Akutagawa not because of the evil he does, or for the people he hurts; he hates Akutagawa because by hating him he gains validation to live.

So you see, once Atsushi gets over this sort of validation-for-his-own-life complexes - more like, when someone is finally going to tell him “it's okay to go on”, and that person surprisingly being Akutagawa himself -, he probably will find it pointless to hate Akutagawa, no matter how evil he is or the amount of good he does.

On a very different yet related note; it's also simply like… A more realistic conception of love. In real life, you don't love someone thinking about whether they're good or evil or how much time they spend stopping doing evil and trying to do good. You love them because they're them! Because of their personality. I think Atsushi would love Akutagawa because he's Akutagawa– for every part of him. And that does end up including loving Akutagawa for how he tries to do good sometimes, why not! But it's not any more important than loving Akutagawa for how awkward he acts around kids, for the way he speaks funny, for his stupid dry humor. It's just that he's Akutagawa, and he's the person Atsushi wants to be with, you know?

¹ The author themself admitted this: “He doesn't fight for a person, nor for everyone. He fights for himself, to gain his permission to live.”

[bugismymiddlename]

So context for this photo if you can still see the thread, I had deleted it because that person just annoyed the hell out of me to oblivion. Won't read anything I said, won't even analyse it or give good points. But I promise you, it gave me a hint of Mileven doubt until this was said.

"Or says something he regrets/regrets something".

Right before he says "I'm sorry I don't say it more"

Regret that he's saying "I love you" or regretting that he didn't say it more.

With everything that we've convered and analyzed, it's obvious the second one. The mantra in Stranger Things is "Friends Don't Lie". The Duffer's made Mike's character out to be loyal, determined, and especially doesn't condone lying himself but still tries to understand Eleven when she does lie to him. Mike lying to Eleven about how he loves her and how he cares for her would be so cruel to Eleven and would contradict everything Mike stands for. He's not lying, you just want him to.

And if the Duffers were to listen to this and put this out, you'd just be brats in a fandom and it proves thag doing so would get you what you want. If the duffers were to go with Byler, it would ruin the whole show! Yes, THE WHOLE SHOW! Here's why:

Hopper believes he's a curse to everyone around him, he feels as though he's the reason everything bad happens to the people he loves. If you don't remember, revisit season 4. Eleven survived using the love that came from Mike, and parallel to this is when Eleven used her mother's love to defeat Vecna again as well, constrast to Vecna using hate for his powers. Eleven surivived, because of the love she felt from Mike. If Byler happens, that just proves to Eleven that love is actually temporary, like Eleven had believed in season 2 (we explained before). This shows that Eleven's self-sacraficing personality would increase, leading to her potential death and the mentality that she deserves to be alone. Which then tells Hopper what? That he's still a curse. Ruins a cbaracters developement

And we already said that Eleven was the hopeful element in the show. Mileven is apart of that, from them having difficult moments and those adversities becoming resolved. If Mileven were to crash, it would crash Eleven and her element, as well as it crash's Mike's loyal element, because he had apprently emotionally cheated on her. Ruins another character's developement.

People mistaken the van scene - Will was letting Mike go because he knew how deeply Mike feels about Eleven and that he would never have a chance. If it was the case that Mike was in love with Will, they had the BIGGEST chance to make that known right then and there. But instead, they do a monolouge where Mike confesses his love to Eleven which apparently people think are a bunch of lies, when it wasn't. Mike didn't lie when he said that he loved Eleven since the day he saw her. He felt something for her even when he didn't realize it, and in the van scene, it was him realizing he's always loved her. That's what Mike meant, and if you haven't realized that yet, you've heard it here first. Will is a selfless character, at least in season 4, contrast to his behavior in season 3, with constantly demanding attention and play-throughs for DND, while ignoring his two friends pining for their girlfriends. The act Will did for Mike while also buliding up the boy's courage, is extremely selfless behavior, and the fact that you believe Will would do something like that to Eleven is outrageous. Once again, ruining another character's developement.

Max would've been long gone, don't need to explain this. Max is a pivotal reason to why most Bylers perfer Mike is a terrible boyfriend towards Eleven. Max manipulated Eleven, and I had gave reasons to this Byler as to why she was, but clearly, they didn't listen. Max's own views on men, like her brother Billy contributes to why she kept on breaking up constantly with Max, and manipulated Eleven into thinking the same way. Eleven was conflicting on breaking up with Mike in the first place, stating herself that friends don't lie, in translation, is her saying that Mike would never lie, she trusts him. (Remember: Mike only lied because of Hopper). But then there's this -

"Friends don't lie but boyfriends do, ALL. THE. TIME" - Max Mayfield, season 3

This is Max saying that whatever Mike says is wrong, and when Mike tries to protect Eleven from overusing her powers, and prove to her that he only lied because of Hopper, everyone goes against him. And he becomes completely hopeless because he is now put in a bad light by everybody. And it's because of Max.

We all know that Eleven would've stayed with Mike, WILLINGLY if it wasn't for Hopper and Max's constant disturbance. Mike tried so hard to get back to Eleven, panicking in his basement, rushing to the phone to see if she's calling and worrying non-stop of trying to protect her.

I can't even say anything much else from me stupidly wasting my energy on that one Byler. But all I know, is that with this information, Mike obviously regreted on not saying the L-word much to Eleven than actually saying it to her. If that were the case, the Duffers would be making the worse show in history. In my opinion.

[hamliet]

Anon who talked about book 7 of TGCF here! I unfortunately will only have book 8 available this February :') once I get my hands on it I will review it here like I did for the last books if you don't mind! Meanwhile, I still have a lot of thoughts on TGCF, and I hope I don't bother you with how long this ask is 😅

I've seen an interpretation online of the bamboo-hat scene in book 6 in which it says that XL would've never ended up as White No-Face's successor even if the bamboo hat guy didn't appear, because it isn't in XL's nature to do something so destructive and evil. Is it bad that I think think this interpretation diminishes the impact the bamboo-hat scene has for me? Because to me what made that scene so great was the fact that kindness was indeed able to change someone at their worst and by consequence bring out their best self. Hell, what makes the conflict between JW and XL so interesting to me is because XL could've indeed become like him had he not received kindness in his darkest moments, and by consequence JW could've been like XL under the right circumstances. "XL is just naturally gooder™ than JW" is not exactly an interpretation I like, and I think it may even contradict the message of other character arcs in the story as well. HC was saved by the kindness he received from XL, and thus became devoted to him. When HX chose his revenge over his friendship with SQX, it didn't satisfy him, and it even made him more miserable, as he lost his only friend in the process. Guzi, by loving QR unconditionally and genuinely as his son, ended up bringing up to the surface a side of QR that perhaps not even QR knew he had, and it moved his heart enough that he ended up sacrificing himself to save Guzi in turn. QYZ became attached to YY because he showed him compassion when everyone else dismissed him and thought of him as nothing more than a brute. I could go on and on. In other MXTX's books there's also a big emphasis on the impact kindness and genuine connection can have on people. WWX could've easily become a XY or a JGY had he been raised in different circumstances. Hell, the constrast between Bingmei and Bingge hinges on the fact that Bingmei was shown kindness while Bingge wasn't, and the difference between them is of day and night.

Usually they mention the quote "What matters is 'you' and not the state of you.", and that part where HC knew XL wasn't the one who did the guilded banquet Massacre, but I didn't exactly interpret these quotes to mean that XL is naturally good™ in a way that he's able to do no big evil, but rather that he's naturally good in a sense that evil isn't something natural to him, even if he participates in it, which is a theme that can also be seen in characters like JW, HX and QR, who became who they are due to the circumstances in their life shaping them into who they became. It's even highlighted that QR used to be a shy and sweet kid until his environment raised him into a monster. Evil isn't natural but rather something slowly molded by circumstances is how I interpreted it. And as for the Guilded Massacre, it's more that HC saw XL rejecting cursing Yong'an after the bamboo-hat scene and thus rejecting White No-Face's philosophy precisely because it was proven wrong in his eyes, and therefore it would make no sense for XL to be responsible for the guilded banquet massacre later on.

Of course I could be completely wrong in my interpretation, but this is what I picked up while reading the novel. Maybe it's my bias against the immobility of the self? Once again I'm sorry for the wall of text, it's just that I have a lot of thoughts about the way MXTX's books handle the impact that kindness and connection have on the self. I also really like your theories and interpretations not only on MXTX's novels, but for other works as well (I'll only be able to read the ones on JW next month in order to avoid spoilers unfortunately)!

No, I completely agree with you. Actually, I'd go so far as to say that's misreading the story, and the ending--without spoilers--makes this textually explicit. Like, it literally says, not symbolically but directly, that the point is that Xie Lian could have become just like Jun Wu.

So, they're not just misinterpreting, they're misreading. I'm guessing theses are the same kinds of people who think MDZS's message is WWX=good JGY=bad, honestly, when again that means that you're missing the point of the story. (Good point about Luo Binghe, as well!)

To return to TGCF, Hua Cheng's "what matters is you and not the state of you" has nothing at all to do with Xie Lian being a "good" person. In fact, Hua Cheng is pretty explicitly amoral. He's loyal to Xie Lian because Xie Lian was kind to him and he fell in love with him. It does not matter to him whether Xie Lian does good or does bad; that's the point of Wu Ming. It only matters to him that he is Xie Lian, and Xie Lian told him he mattered and did not deserve to be treated as he was being treated.

Of course, one could counter that love itself is a moral virtue, so thereby it saves Hua Cheng and the whole world, but that's for another time haha.

And, of course, please do continue to share your thoughts!!

[yourmaidsp]

How do you come up with your compositions? They are so cool I wanna know if you have any huge inspirations :-) your art is so lovely

Hiiiiiii! Awww thanks for the appreciation!

I'm actually working on a more comprehensive art tutorial rn (bc someone asked here earlier), that would include composition， but I'll do a shorter answer first for u bc you're asking sth. more specific ?( hope it's okey (❁´◡`❁))

(Oh and also I've seen ur req! don't worry, I'm doing that as well, it's just there's still some before yours( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`))

Um and when the long tutorial is out, feel free to check that out ~

On Composition:

Goal

For me the goal of my illustration r Storytelling n full on Emotional experience.

(It's something I've been trying to achieve but cannot guarantee I hit it all the time, sometimes bc of my habit I'll lost myself during the process and looking back find out I miss something important, so the following is the best theories I could provide. Most of improvement r still in daily practice(●'◡'●))

To paint with beautiful compostion, you'll first have a solid story in mind, it can be simplified into " who when where n what", writing them down on a note n stick it near by would help.

And as to emotional experience, is something I can't get hold of all the time... music might help I guess? I have headcanon playlists for every chatacter or ship I wanna paint, and extract emotions from them everyday.

But there's some practical methods too.

Methods

I've worked storyboard n director for 2 years in the past, even though I'm not proud of the projects I worked on, some knowledge might still be useful.

It's mostly 2 methods: Silhouette & Movement

Well for silhouettes there's already bunch of books discussing this, one of my favs is Framed Ink, I'm sure u can find a pdf somewhere on the net.

(I find this photo on the internet bc mine is not around)

Basically it's that, think about the objects within your image, by using shadows n their original colors, you can split it into interesting shapes. This will visually elevate the overall feeling of composition.

Also, there's a cheat build in humem's understanding of an image.

basically this, putting important object on the 1/3 points of an image is the fastest cheat.

Also, contrast your silhouette. If you're painting sth that has no background, try giving your silhouette a constrasted design.

(like in this one, the right side is smooth but I'm putting lots of variation on the left.)

For movement, think about your image as a shot taken when your characters r doing sth.

They would each have a direction to move to, and that forms their movement. Your job here is to arrange them into logical or emotional lines.

If it's a series of work, u can plan out the movement toward the same direction.

(the only time you're seeing their car facing left is when they stopped, I was trying to say that their trip kinda ends here)

Also for manga, comic n movie, make sure your important information is within safe area.

(the area within dotted lines is the safe area, u want your character's expression to be mostly within it. if it's like extreme close-up, the certain area u want to emphasize should be within it.)

I have some examples for these two theories.

First let's analyze this screenshot of one of Kurosawa's film, Seven Samurais.

The story here is that these guys r about to fight, possibly some big conflict. There silhouette can be sumed up like this, within the orange line.

We see this guy sticking out from this shape, implying he might be the head of this crowd.

Movement wise, their spears n heads face the same direction, telling u that the enemy will come from that side. Even this is a still frame, the movement is implied perfectly.

Another sample from Synecdoche,NY by Charlie Kauffman

This is a minimalist way of conveying emotion, u only see one main character here, and hardly any movement. Why is it so powerful?

Our main character, Caden, is in the almost center of this shot. He has a clear n simple shape. You don't normally put your main object in the center, so we'd assume he's very important.

Then there's this repeated notes in the background. When something is repeated a lot, it giver u an impression of pressure. Especially when he's surrounded by them, and they take more space within the frame than he does.

Also, this is a down shot, the camera is pointing down and behind him. You'll feel your character being watched or at his lower point of life when u do that.

Inspirations:

Movies mostly, and traditional artists.

Back when I was in film school I watched a bunch of movies n that slowly became a habit, movies r very good sources for ideas.

Even if you're not having enough time, watching reviews n analysis would also help, (but I'd suggest u try to consume the films not listening to critics to get a unique experience.)

Some of my favourite directors are:

Kelly Reichardt (First Cow)

Apichatpong (Tropical Malady, Memoria);

Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche NY, Adaptaion);

Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue);

Kurosawa Akira (Yume, Kagemusha );

Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz );

Kusturica (Black Cat White Cat, Underground 1995);

Carol Reed (The Third Man)

Errrm I hope it's helpful? (❁´◡`❁) The next tutorial is gonna be even longer.

[night-dark-woods]

5, 7, 15 for the fic asks!!

thank you!!! this got extremely long.

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

oooh hm. idk about Never, but ive been rotating the idea of Chalco and Aunor interacting bc the different ways they orbit around Ikora FASCINATE me, and the things that have been asked of them are very different. it would have to be epistolary i think and while i DO think i have enough primary sources to get their voices and values alright (letters from Aunor etc, and then WQCE my beloved), im not confident in my ability to do epistolary, & also i'd need something specific for them to argue about (that i also am interested enough in to litigate thru character POVs).

i've yet to decide if I'm accepting the TFS ending cutscene panel where Ikora is using strand, bc im suuuper ambivalent on Ikora using any darkness subclass- i need to re-listen to a bunch more post-campaign stuff to see how i feel about it, bc i know she talks to Mara a LOT in mission voicelines, and i think a lot of their past conflict has been over Mara's antipathy towards the Light & focus on balance over sheer faith in the Traveler (not religious Faith-faith, as we've talked abt before, bc i dont think Ikora sees the Traveler as a *god* like Zavala does- it's like gravity or thermodynamics its simply *true,* and can be explained. its not something that requires faith or sacrifice.)

but if i decide to accept that as canon then i think that would make a FASCINATING argument because Aunor has been Ikora's hunting dog for YEARS, cold-blooded killer putting down guardians who fall to darkness, and i think the sheer betrayal (from Aunor's POV) of Ikora changing her position on that would cause SUCH a crisis of faith for Aunor (what does that mean for what she's done in Ikora's name? what does that mean for how she can live with the weight of it?), and i think constrasting that with Chalco being Ikora's right-hand man (her silly rabbit / does she call you that / no) BUT without the blind loyalty that Petra has for Mara ("you are not the queen and i am NOT one of her cadre") could be sooo fun bc it wouldn't be a simple "Aunor mutiny Chalco loyal." i just dont know if Actually Writing it will provide more enrichment for me than just rotating the concept in my head.

that got long!!! and also ive partially convinced myself to work on it eventually lol.

anyway. that's the main one that i can think of, that isnt a "this scenario sounds hot BUT i dont want to write it bc there isnt enough character work to make the logistical nightmare of writing porn worth it" LMFAO

7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now?

5-ish?

- Elsie&Amanda (nicknamed "horsegirl movie but its a robot with dysphoria") where Elsie needs help fixing some part of her body and she can't do it by herself for some reason and then has to deal with the fact that Amanda regards her body with a simple honest appreciation that Elsie will NEVER feel for herself bc of when and how she became an exo!!! her own mother calls her body a "walking lazaretto" and she watched her father die horribly for this technology!!! god!!!

- Ikora's fight with Madhir & how she let him eat her ability to want anything. god. Ikora Rey woman that you are. also inspired by the way the demon works in dunmeshi bc i think the Ahamkara should work more like that. fuck monkey's paw genie trick wishes, getting exactly what you wished for and in doing so losing part of Who You Are is so much better. the Ahamkara aren't evil tricksters they are PREDATORS they are the very tippy top of the food chain and as dunmeshi says. to eat is the sole privilege of the living. there is no moral weight to that no matter how violent and that makes the violence of it far more interesting!!!

- somewhere between 3 and 5 high-concept porn fics, 2 at WIP stage and several that may or may not get written, all Petra-centric bc i (and Jackie) love to put that dyke in situations (all have Mara/Petra/Sjur as a given established relationship, the two WIPs are focused on Mara/Petra and Petra/Sjur & the ones that may just stay as ideas have bonus Petra/Amrita(/other corsairs) & Petra(/Sjur)/Amanda)

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

song lyrics mostly!!! often the one i was listening to a lot while writing/thinking about it, or one that makes me feel like that post thats like "song that reminds me of my favorite character comes on and i make the most unwell expression known to man."

the problem is i want the vibe of the whole song to mostly fit which means i've recently become aware that i nearly exclusively listen to sad music, apparently, bc i could not find a Single Song i like that fit the very fluffy/conflict-free Amanda/Sloane fic i wrote recently, so instead its both a line from the fic and a bit of a pun on the content lol: follow-through (impact play)

[galacticwildfire]

I've finished uni (god willing I pass everything) and I'm finally dedicating myself to my own manuscript that I've been planning for the better part of the last year, mainly it's been structuring and working out the nitty gritty that's kept me from the actual writing.

It's fantasy, think Shakespearean sort, almost romeo and juliet but sapphic in a mesh between an ancient greco-roman/renaissance world. Two young women from sometimes warring kingdoms who initially see one another as a threat and then are forced on the run together due to sudden social upheaval. I'm terrible at summaries but essentially its themes focus very heavily on religious/ideological conflict and women's rights. Using the constrasting pov's to represent women in an oppressed society desperately clambouring for whatever control they can get, verses women in a liberated society being somewhat in denial of that extremism threatening their own freedoms (much like the modern world).

It will be first person dual pov (dual pov is necessary for the story) and I've just been battling between past or present tense. I'm more comfortable with present, especially with my style of writing, but past is more popular. First person, present tense is the more unpopular style according to the internet but I've been rereading some of the books I adore and it's always been first person pov and either past or present tense that I've loved. Mostly it was with ya novels and this would be a new adult novel, and so I've been reading adult books with that tense and pov and it's affirmed my decision to go with my preferred style.

I'm terrible at summaries, (i'll get better), but it's very much reflective of what's going on in the world. If I were to write a similar story but in the modern world it wouldn't even quite classify as a dystopian novel, just the world we live in. This has also been driven by the fact there are extremely few sapphic novels out there and that needs fixing.

[thequimmqueen]

Long time no see. I see you have a change of heart of your favorite ship, huh?

Yep! Sometimes, one gets bored of the quality stuff and goes to choose the nearest piece of shit available!

I mean, who wouldn't love a pair of two strangers that only have in common that they dance and work at the same place?

Like, c'mon. People like simple shit! And they also love hating on other people's ships despite them having more depth!

Like.. what? What do they have?

An entire history of working together as lawyers? Founding together a very succesful firm, sharing a beautiful and constrasting color scheme, adding the fact that Quinn and Timm's dynamic of grumpy straight-man and Passionate extroverted dork is quite adorable and with lots of potential for fanfiction writing?

Not just on how they met, but also how they used to work together, and then how they mend that beautiful bond they use to have post-bakeria?

Pfft. Wouldn't be me..

It's not like.. thinking about them, despite the years of conflict in this fandom, makes my heart feel warm and happy..

It's not like drawing them or writing about them gets me to kick my feet in joy, giggling about the many cute things they do together..

It's not like I keep all the Quimm fanart i've gotten from friends like a chest full of gold and rare gems..

And not to mention how LOVELY it was to experience constant harassment, bullying and Gaslighting over not liking it by people I thought were my friends! 10/10 experience!

Haha...

....Yeah no.

In all seriousness, It's physically hurting me a lot to say I like it. My throat is actually getting raspy as I try to laugh my way through pretending.

But in a way, it's also fun. I get to insult it much more than I usually allow myself to, unlike any other day.

Knowing this heck of a fandom, probably some sensitive weirdo would say I harass those who don't ship it. But to that I say: Have you ever spoken to me? Do you see that my blog is not blue? I'm not pulling anything of the sort.

Rest assured, Once April 1st is over, I'm back to my one true ship: and with that, an art piece i've been dying to show since Valentines ;) 💜💛

[windser]

lets talk more about untouchable sylus just soaking into your warmth. praying this man isn't a furnace, because more often than not youre bound to wake up in two ways: with with minimum 75% of your body just covered by this man or you pulled from your side of the bed to be spread out of his. there is no in between. literally, like no space.

and i say hoping he doesn't emulate a lot of heat, because if kicking the blankets off in the middle of the night doesnt help regulate your body temperature and you try to move away, be ready for some complaints.

it starts off subtle. just your movement is enough to stir him. you can expect a bit of grumbling as he tries to help you pull away the blankets. a light but firm arm around her body to keep you in place while you both readjust. you might get a rumbly ' are you comfortable?' before he tries to fall back under.

but if thats not enough? good luck getting away. waking him once already makes him a lighter sleeper than before. he's sensitive to the slightest twitch now. regardless of your dynamic, physically majority of the time, the man is stronger. making it very difficult, exempt from powers and authority, to reign him in.

[aloe-note]

A Kiss and a White Lily – Volume 3

the conflict this volume is presented even more dramatically than previous ones. take the main reveal:

towako's face is framed and lit in a way that emphasizes her actions as really villainous. it doesn't match the severity of the situation: yeah, what she's doing is really awful but you would expect this framing for something graver. the framing instead reflects yukina's perspective on the matter. it's the worst thing anyone's ever done to her.

this volume furthers the series' exploration of shapes of love. towako and yukina are constrasted in their love for each other and for the garden and what shape that takes for each of them. we also learn more about the shape of kurosawa and shiramine's love, featuring more intense framing.

anyhow.

[blaiddydbrokeit]

Last one before I try to sleep off my fever:

One of the key points of how I designed Allan as a character is that a lot of his story points are meant to either contrast or complement Dimitri - similar to the constrast that we get of Lambert and Rufus.

Dimitri was hurt by the Agarthans who orchestrated the Tragedy to serve their intents. Allan was hurt by the Tragedy as well - being that Rufus' regency left him vulnerable, and that the Agarthans had used blood stolen during the initial massacre for the procedure.

In a way, Dimitri sees one side of the story - the things that happened on the surface of the earth: the massacre, the retaliation, the subsequently developing racism. Allan has the other half of that same story, the things that happened underground, so to say: cruel experiments, torture, the groundwork towards even greater evils. They complement each other by completing a story that fits in itself.

And yet, in the contrast, Dimitri grows vengeful and enraged by his trauma, willing to go to any lengths to attain that revenge in the name of justice, while Allan becomes meek and avoidant from it, willing to keep out of way of those he believes he would only cause trouble for.

Even so, in their growth they once again match up. Dimitri's compassion and resolve stands out, echoing his father, while Allan's confidence and extensive understanding of Faerghus politics become more apparent when he opens up, being so harshly groomed to rule. And yet even that echoes Rufus' own political prowess. I really think it adds a lot more depth to the internal conflicts and story of House Blaiddyd, given that the story in Houses is much more about the war, that the Tragedy becomes more of a backstory plot when it should be much more with Dimitri as AM's key character.

[danteinthedevildom]

Something I love about Obey Me is that, on the whole, for every trait a character has, they have another trait that actively counters it and thus makes them seem genuinely conflicting on a surface level, but wonderfully three dimensional on a deeper dive into their character.

E.g. People in the early-game sometimes think Diavolo comes across as a little two-faced, or that there’s something a little suspicious about him and the things he does - and I def. originally saw some theories (and when I first started playing, had some suspicions of my own) that he might end up being the real “villain” of the game. 

A lot of this stems from the fact that he seems genuinely friendly, open, and willing to spend time with the exchange students in casual, informal ways, but also has abilities and moments of power abuse that seem to completely diverge from the image of the smiling prince. 

Surely someone who does this is hiding something? Surely that carefree attitude is just a facade? It’s definitely the sort of twist you could expect with the character setup present in Diavolo.

But when you look at it, there’s a reason behind this duality that doesn’t actually fall into the usual tropes - and instead builds a much more interesting, well-rounded character. 

(Spoilers ahead, both for Lesson 16 and for the most recent Lessons, especially involving Diavolo’s childhood.)

For instance, how could he claim to see Lucifer as a friend when he has him bound by an Oath that puts an incredible power imbalance in their relationship, and stops him from speaking of it?

The answer is that he’s genuinely never had a friend in his entire long life that hasn’t had some form of reason to stay by his side. To Diavolo, the Oath was a way of ensuring Lucifer couldn’t leave - not a way of keeping control. He wanted Lucifer to be his friend, has been enamoured with him even since Lucifer was an angel, and took the opportunity to secure that friendship in the only way he knew how. 

Because Diavolo is pitifully lonely. Because Diavolo was raised in a way that left him incapable of making friends. Because Diavolo likely never would have been able to make a friend if he hadn’t tethered them to him. 

Does this make the Oath any better? No. He took advantage of a broken, freshly fallen angel, terrified of the fates of his siblings, and vowed him to silence and servitude in return for their lives. 

But does this mean that the Oath was inherently evil? No. At its core, the Oath was the act of a very lonely man realising he had a chance to secure the one thing he wanted more than anything. It was selfish, but not evil.

It does, however, show us the sort of extent Diavolo will go to get what he wants. He will leverage something over others if he thinks that’s what it takes. This is even reinforced by the truth of Barbatos’ servitude; that he treatened to refuse ascension to the throne if Barbatos didn’t stay. 

At the same time, it shows that what he wants, more often than not, is something harmless, if desperate. It’s often a desire for companionship that spurs him into dubious action. 

He’s very unlikely to abuse his power to genuinely hurt someone, but he may use his power in a way that has hurtful side effects.

Diavolo is aware that his actions had consequences, and feels guilt. He still isn’t confident that Lucifer and Barbatos genuinely want to stay with him or in his service, and he’s openly aware of the fact that Lucifer, at the very least, doesn’t see them being as close as he does. 

He doesn’t want to remove either of them from his service for fear that they really will leave him, but he’s aware that keeping them there potentially against their will isn’t conducive to healthy friendships. 

Diavolo has done dubious things for selfish reasons. This is undeniable. But those reasons are genuine and understandable, and something players can easily sympathise with. 

That’s the sort of thing you want for a well fleshed-out character; the ability to say “there was something inherently wrong in this action taken,” but also say “I can understand why he took the action, even if it was wrong”. 

I focused on Diavolo for this, but here’s another two points I can think of to further illustrate the point:

- Lucifer’s genuine love and care for his family constrasting against his prideful brutality and absolute loyalty to Diavolo above all else (e.g. how he can justify locking Belphie up in the attic. This was an act of love. The alternative was to hand Belphie over to Diavolo and let him face an unknown fate. By locking him up for the duration of the Exchange Programme, Lucifer was working to avoid being disloyal to Diavolo and being disloyal to his family. It was absolutely an imperfect solution. It absolutely had its flaws. It absolutely made things worse. But it was his way of keeping his youngest brother alive and allowing Diavolo’s dream to come to fruition. A dubious act founded in good intentions.)

- Satan’s kind thoughtfulness and amicable nature contrasting against his Wrath and how it affects his brothers (e.g., how he can switch between fretting over Beel’s mental health in one chat, to being so furious with him over his Gluttony that Beel actively goes into hiding in another. Satan is a character rife with stark dualities and his own frantic attempts to try and stitch together something whole. He’s not overly good at it. His Wrath often gets in the way. But he has spent his entire life trying to improve, to find himself, to come to terms with his creation; he is trying every day not to be the Satan that lashes out at the drop of a hat.)

The game isn’t always perfect at showing these characteristics in equal measure, but sometimes that’s the point. 

It’s why, for instance, some people write Satan to be a heartless, Wrath-filled asshole, and others write him as a harmless bookworm with a knack for academia; the truth is that he’s both, and a key part of his characterisation is finding balance between the contrasting sides. 

On the other hand, it’s why some people completely look over Beel as very two dimensional when he truthfully isn’t. He’s a naturally quiet demon, content for others to see him as a jock with a love of food and nothing more. But in that quiet, he hides a demon struggling with survivor’s guilt who is secretly hurt by how simple people think he really is, and has such a strong love for his family that he puts them before anything else. His characterisation isn’t finding a balance in his contrast, but finding the contrast to begin with.

That’s the point of a three dimensional character. You’re meant to be able to debate about them, and understand them while disagreeing with them. You’re meant to be able to view them from different angles and see something new each time. That’s half the fun of them - that’s what makes them interesting.

I won’t lie and say the game’s great at this all the time, because sometimes it is really, genuinely not, and sometimes even Solmare have a tendency to forget some of the deeper aspects of their characters for the surface-level stuff. 

But for what is there? There’s so much interesting craft at work in the characters, and it makes taking a closer look at each of them - and how different players view them - so, so enjoyable. 

[maneaterwithtail]

Well one.. it turns out she's an animal experiment.

And Shuro, a virtual prince, is not that much better treated by his nanny or father. Same spirit used to catch/kill her is used to scare or direct him. And said nanny is his father's mistress and both parents treated him like a servant/project to randomly do stuff to for random reasons.

Shuro's lifestyle would naturally make him nonconfrontational and his attempt at Fallin is a sign of personal growth, as well as conflict with his brother, and even his seeking proper closure and acceptance of her rejection.

But again. Shuro is the most privileged of his group and it STILL amounts to less than you think from them and opens him to more abuse at home OR abroad. Shuro views Laios as transgressive employer and Laios claims Shuro as a friend and he's been deeply mistreating him out of misguided affection and enthusiasm and making him feel worse. By constrast Shuro's personal abuse ot Itzumi is... he employs her as inherited/assigned from dad and prevents her from escape when sees her as a dangerous monster/freak of nature. He doesn't demand more of her than of himself (as Laios points out the guy hasn't been eating or sleeping or caring for himself properly)

heck Itzumi's FELLOW slaves chide her attitude and the rest more or less like and respect Toshiro. So whatever his faults he isn't utterly detestable as a person.

As treatment of fantasy world slavery/caste system more appreciated. You can champion Itzumi while there is a more... measured context why and what she's going through (she wouldn't even live like Laios if free, and even being Toshiro isn't great shakes)

I find the contrast rather curious between fans commenting on how trash Laios is for being culturally insensitive towards Shuro, and Shuro's household literally including a magically collared teenage slave forced into combat duty.

[windser]

cw: pegging a/n: i just rly want to bite sylus ass :') unhinged thots only

"mhm, like this, even with your bratty mouth you look so cute," you whispered in his ear as he presses against your hold to try to look up into the mirror. you had his head pressed into the mattress, hands cuffed at the wrist behind his back and bent over for exclusive access.

“it's a shame really," you bemoan as you play with the loose piece of his hair. " i feel kinda bad knowing I’m about to fuck you so hard that it's going to mess it all up.”

his eyes were icy and they pierced through your soul as you landed a slap on his ass.

“big words for from a little thing like yourself. perhaps some advise?"

“since when am i supposed to take advise from below?” your laugh was sharp, grin sharper when you caught him bitting the linen as your nails pressed into the inside of his thighs. “no, make the rules here and i’m telling you to stay still.”

you think he goes to make a smart retort, but it's nearly torn from his lips as you ease into him, shoving his face back into the comforter before letting out lewd and embarrassing sounds. he was putting in more effort than usual, not letting it drag by your own ministrations. and whether it was because he had a long day or because of your pretty little costume, you knew you were falling faster than you could catch yourself.

[ignitification]

i feel like the heroes are making mistakes that will cost them another big loss

Deku is acting on his own trying to protect his friends when in reality by making himself more vulnerable he is making the situation worse for everyone (also he is suddenly a badass at everything so yeah)

Endeavor's situation is weird because he got the support from his family, promised shoto they will work together to stop touya (he remembers this specifically) but then refuses to call him back and acts on his own be it from fear of shoto getting hurt or the fact that it is him taking responsibility for what HE caused and trying to fix this it is still wrong because he is the last person who can bring back or stop touya considering he is his abuser and at this point he STILL doesn't understand his own mistakes to an extent. i know you might say he wouldn't kill touya but it really scares me that he would probably try to mix being a hero with killing touya and a father by dying WITH him thinking this is the way to go for it

Well, the heroes have been making mistakes since the beginning. This is a heated argument, especially since we know that the system upholding the pro-heroes and their actions is faulty at its core. But surpisingly, they suffered very little losses (I mean, the most important victims have been Night Eye and Midnight, and both died in 'battle' - not for actions aimed specifically at maiming them either, making them basically casualties),and this comes back to your argument. Where heroes SHOULD have rationally been punished for their mistakes, there are - in constrast - very little instances in which heroes suffered the consequences of their actions. This is why, the All Might Death flags are raising, especially with the last chapter (as I wrote here). This is even more evident from what you point out about Izuku: I don't entirely think that Izuku going off on his own is a bad thing, but honestly, apart from his encounter with Stain and in the long term his encounter with AfO and him saving Shigaraki, I am at a dire loss with his character. He is evolving, in a good and meaningful way, but at the same time he poses a question in terms of continuity of the narrative and lets pop up questions such as: so, where is this exactly going? What is he trying to achieve by detaching himself from All Might and going off on an 'urban legends' path? Do these two things have ties to each other (as I think they do) - and if they do, is going off and leaving AM behind a parallel with what Nana has done before, leaving Yagi and also then exposing him to the dangers of being a (past) OfA user? (In the first panel, there is a Nana-shot, which makes me think, that the one being left behind is somehow an All Might's trait, as or he is being left behind by those who he cares about or he is ahead or everyone else.)

As for Endeavour, I think that besides everything I said in last asks, I don't think he will confuse his duty as hero and as a father by killing Touya and himself with it. It would be a very much waster trope, and just a terrible conclusion to the Todoroki plotline. Touya is definitely surviving this until the end, but I think that Endeavour sacrificing himself for Touya might come later into play, when both duties mix up (exactly as you say, and exactly as what is happening in E's head in this right moment) and he has to take a decision which he thinks might be of him as a father and yet reflect his own duty as a pro-hero towards society (shaped as Touya vs villain Dabi). Now, this is a discourse which has a lot of nuances (and that I really don't want to get into as of the moment), but the baseline is that there is very little risk of Touya dying, especially by Endeavour's hand (it just would not make sense in the slightest, and it would completely kill any possibility of Endeavour's atonement that Horikoshi is so hardly structuring and fighting for). I am sure that Shouto however will resonate more in this speech than Endeavour, and that ther emighr be some conflict of interest in between the three but as I said I think it is a tad too early to worry about this (or worry at all, as the three main villains are going to be saved and gonna be alive at the end, contrary to All Might). So please don't worry, as things are slowly making sense and every loose end will be tied (hopefully).

[vnckocurzyca]

New chapter new analysis

I’m publishing it one more time because it didnt show in tags for some reason???

I put it under “read more” so maybe now.

I finally read translation so I can finally write something about the new chapter. I know people’s strong feelings towards it and I think it’s totally understandable huh

I, personally, liked this chapter even if I think it was creepy as fuck. But I know Jun’s work and how she writes her stories and I know that she purposely made it really uncomfortable. I think this chapter was made to be upsetting because what happened during it was kinda important?

Warning; LONG POST (contains spoilers to new chapter)

First thing - Noe was forced to see some Vanitas’s memories. Of course by Misha eyes, but still it’s Vanis past. And as we know already, Vanitas REALLY didn’t want Noe to know about anything his past-related. He even threated him that he would kill you if Noe would someday try to drink his blood. So it’s opening for totally new conflict. We have two options

Vanitas would come to place and see Noe drinking Mishas blood and it would be horrible

Vanitas wouldn’t see it and Noe would live in sting of remorse and we know how emotional Noe is and it would be also horrible. And this option also has 2 options

Noe would finally tell Vani that he drank Mishas blood and it would be horrible

Misha would tell Vanitas that Noe drank his blood and it also would be horrible

When Noe started drinking Mishas blood he walked into a trap and there is no escape now. Vanitas is going to KNOW this and its going to be a problem, because knowing Vanis past, memories and emotions was a borderline in their relationship - Noe didn’t get a permission to step over it. And now he just... steped, because of Mishas blackmail.

Also the whole scene was made to be creepy - we can clearly see that Noe is distraught and scared and uncomfortable. We can hear his thoughts, we can see his terrified face

He is terrified for A LOT of reasons. A lot.

He is scared of Domis life. He don’t know what is going on with her and she is unconscious and she can literally DIE. Domi is his best friend, his childhood friend and nearly all family he has left. Domi is the closest person to him and he can’t just lose her like he lost Louis.

He DON’T WANT to read Vanitas’s past without his permission and knowledge. Its awful, it’s non consensual and non-con it’s something Noe hates, because, even if he would like to know Vani’s past (what he said back before Gevaudan arc) he don’t want to know it without Vanis consenst and he didn’t push. And now he is forced to see them, to betray Vani’s trust.He, probably, hates himself thanks to it.

He is blackmailed, bullied and intimidated which is bad on it’s own. He has absolutely NO CONTROL over a situation, he is absolutely subordinated and can’t do anything to change his situation. It’s scary.

He is forced to drink blood, which is a really intimate and delicate activity for him. He hates being forced to drink blood and forcing to drink blood, and, additionaly, Misha is a kid. Or, at least, he look like a kid (it’s hard to say his age for sure and how many years their past with Moreau happened). It’s gross, creepy and weird and Noe feels it. We can see him backing away from a fucking kid.

Jun did it purposely. Combine all of it, to made the horror moment for him, probably to break him in front o Misha.

The running thing in Vanitas no Carte is motif of Noe not having any control over anything in his life (even without his noticing). Noe never had a control over anything.

He didn’t have a control over his life during childhood, ie when he was sold on auction

He didn’t have any control over Louis’s death and curse. He couldn’t do anything to save him or to save other kids back then. He could do nothing.

He don’t have any control in general - he was trained by the Teacher to be his pupil. Noe don’t even know how big control Grandpa de Sade has over him and his doings.

He didn’t have any control when Domi found him at Orloks. She just kidnapped him to Altus.

He don’t have any control over his relationship with Jeanne - anytime he wants to talk to her or about her he is interuptted.

He didn’t want his blood be sucked by Ruthven and he didn’t want to Swear.

He don’t have any control now. He didn’t wanted to know Vanis past non consensualy, he didn’t wanted to drink Mishad blood, he don’t want to see Domi in this situation.

It’s a writing continuity. We are being told how little control Noe has over his (and others) life. It’s becaming a plot point. MochiJun knows what she is doing. She purposely made the whole chapter creepy and unsettling. She need us to know that what is happening right now is wrong - not only drinking blood from a 1/4 naked kid, but also the rest. Everything. That this chapter is traumatic - we literally touched Noes trauma, Domis trauma and Mishas trauma over a few pages and panels:

Dominique - we can see how she reacted to Louis death, how she wanted to make Noe feels better, why she changed her hairstyle and outfit, how she hated herself because it was her brother who died, not her. We can see it now - she is depressed, she hatees herself and would prefer to die over Louis. She was easy to catch for Misha.

Noe - we can see that he can do anything for Domi because she is his last friend, his family, last thing (person) he has. He can’t lose her, he is desperate and traumatized over Louis death so he can do anything, even suck Mishas blood and know Vanis past even if he hates it and its wrong for him.

Misha - we can see thanks to his flashbacks that it was hinted he was (if I undertand english correctly, sorry, it’s not my first language) se*//ually abused as a child. He thought his mother was possesed by devil, it was traumatizing on it’s own, but he was also dressed as a girl, physically abused and hit by his mother and used during her “sessions” with clients. Then he was kidnapped by Moreau who, probably, was experimenting on him just like on Vanitas - so Misha was abused again. And later Vanitas killed “father” what also traumatized him. His behaviour towards Noe it’s not really that suprising - its horrible and sad and heartbreaking knowing why Misha is that way, but its logical. It has sense. It’s just how his trauma made him.

Sooo do I think what happened in the chapter was good or okay? No. It was creepy and made me feel sick. But do I think Jun is bad for making it this way? No. I think her work is great, because she actually did planned it logically. She delivered TONS OF INFORMATIONS by only one chapter. Tons, about a lot of characters - Misha, Vanitas, Noe, Dominique, even Roland (he know Misha is one thing, but, also, why he was so beaten up? What happened my man? Who hurted you?) It wasn’t just gross pedo-fanservice some people accused it to be. (even if it was gross anyway och my gos this scene with Misha standing over Noe was frightening, I was just as scared as Noe, I felt like I was in his place and I was looking at Misha)

Also! I’m pretty sure one of the reason for Misha undressing his collar a little bit was for us (and maybe Noe too) to see his possesion mark on his arm. For some reason we, as an audience, need to know this.

But! We also get a lot of different informations -

Domi is a royal guard and is working in castle, so she probably knew Luca before and had contact with him or some other royal people. i think it’s interesting that she worked at castleas a royal guard.

Luca probably likes Domi and was worried about her. Also after knowing she is missing he decided to took direct actions, he is not passive.

Misha has Vanitas of the Blue Moon’s possesion mark on his hand. It’s really interesting, especially when we know that its his prosthetic arm. Somebody tried to cut his arm with a possesion mark and I bet it was Vanitas or Misha himself. Yet it DIDN’T work, mark of possesion is still here, above his prosthetic.

Noe “don’t know anything about Vanitas”. It was an important sentence. It was something that Noe need to know narratively speaking. It’s pushing the story forward, because Noe’s and Vani’s relationship is the core of the story. It was literally told in the first chapter that it’s a story about their journey.

Misha had a lot of bruises on his whole body after he was rescued. We knew he was beaten, but we could also see it’s evidence.

Mishas face when Noe drank his blood was similar to his mother face when a vampire drank his blood. It wasn’t accidental, we were shown his trauma and how it’s affected him.

Next thing I noticed:

In this panel, Misha looks A LOT like Vanitas. Og course he has child features and chubbier face, he has white(?) hair and eyelashes ets, but his mimic, his gaze, how one of his eyes is covered by hair and his words. Its literally how Vanitas’s panel would be draw. It’s really Vanitaish.

We also got some questions, like:

What happened to Misha and how he lost his hand?

What Luca ordered Jeanne? (probably to check out real Paris and maybe find Domi or Noe)

Why Mishas mark of possesions was so important for us to know?

Is that Roland met Misha in the past important?

Why was Roland so beaten up?

There was also one more thing. Jun is operating in her story not only by making parallels betweend her characters (ie Teacher and VotBM, or Astolfo nad Vanitas, or Louis and Domi etc) but also contrasts. The biggest contrast motif on the story are probably Vanitas and Noe thanks to not only their history, but also their appearance, personality, design of their clothes, their height, their names (Vanitas being related to death and vanity, Noe being related to saving and something biblical etc). Their whole characters are made constrast. And so we got here:

Vanitas and Misha are not made parallels, theyre made contrast.

Misha is looking from the upside, Vanitas is looking from the above, Mishas hair is white, Vanitas hair is black, Vani has a shadow over his face, misha is lighted. Misha has white eyelashes, Vani has black. Misha looks calm an suprised, Vani looks stressed. Their whole “atmosphere” is different. Even if Misha is bruised in this panel he looks clean, even angelic, when Vanitas looks... bad, he has dark circles under eyes, wrinkled eyebrows, bandage etc. They’re made to contrast themselves, not to be compared to. It’s the next hint about their role in the story I suppose. That they’re not similar, they’re not the same and there is something basically different about their roles.

I would also like to write about shadow and light work in this chapter, but I’m just really tired right now, soo here it is! My analyze od the new chapter, or, at least, the most important parts of it (for me). I liked it in general, but it was... stressed and I was anxious about this chapter for the one whole day. But in general I think Jun did gods work with delivering informations she wanted to delivere.