#(or rather the speed at which i narratively need them to fly lol)

[bleachbleachbleach]

Encounters with the sublime: that flutter of joy you get when you see your fave's name on your sticky note

it's not even capitalized and it's red squigglied because your laptop is convinced you meant to type "histogen"

but nonetheless, the sublime

[kitreadsbirdmen]

Birdmen Finale Thoughts

A Reflection on the End

Birdmen checked a lot of boxes for me. The most superficial being wings and flying, concepts that I would imagine from the window of a speeding car or subway train. I can’t say I was attracted to the freedom of the idea, that frankly scared me silly. But it was fascinating enough, and it preoccupied this small part of my imagination from time to time with the pull of the absolutely inexplicable. What if… What if something happened? What if I were different or strange? How would everyone react? What would I do? How would I change or what would I do to fight that change?

These thought experiments often led me to self-indulgent stories with fantasitcal premises that would only halt the speculation and sweep their characters towards their own plots and narratives. They would only glance over to the vastly more interesting human fallout of the [insert truly miraculous phenomenon] for the sake of episodic drama or a comedic take. These would deep down be very disappointing to me because they failed to give weight to the mind-spinning concept of the supernatural. By brushing past it, the story would dismiss my biggest questions, the ones I felt a morbid curiosity to see explained vicariously. That’s probably why I was so hooked to Birdmen at first. 

Birdmen was and is... rather mundane if you think about it. Grounded, set in a recognizable reality, gave nuance to very human quirks and details of life and society. Kinda dull-ish, slightly charming, and depressing, with all the same desire for something more that we feel when we watch the clock tick away. And even the murmurs of the supernatural had this incredulous air. Something amusing and perhaps hard to dismiss nevertheless. And as our cast is thrust into this new spin on reality, it’s given weight and time. Growing pains full of stumbling youth shenanigans and strife. The Introductory Arc is some masterful execution of humanity as the line of a new species skirts more and more into a diverging reality. It’s here that a very different kind of strength is capitalized on. The limitless potential found within limitation itself.

The core concept and primary conflict of birdmen comes from the subtle utilization of a grounded scientific and philosophical school of thought. This limits the entire narrative to concepts inspired not by the dramatic needs or visual aesthetic, but by the imagination of existing science itself. While a lot of things can boast this particular source, I think Birdmen is very conservative with where it could go. The most outlandish things are noted but not abused. Nothing is absurd no matter the demand. It’s the reason why I found the lore behind the growing science and discovery of the Seraph abilities to be immersive. It’s why I could create a million 1st ability ideas, headcanons, and theories (some of which would actually get confirmed) in one sitting. The source material existed within limits and therefore opened the door to boundless potential. 

To put it in a word, it’s realistic.

Realistic characters, events, ‘villains’, powers, relationships, conflicts… the list goes on. When we pick up a story we suspend our disbelief to welcome the basic empathy and logic to engage us through the world. But I felt a strange relationship with that process on so many levels for Birdmen. It’s why talking about it in-depth is such a hard to explain feeling. When fictional characters have all the nuance and depth as a real person. When wide-scale event scenarios start reflecting the common trends of the current mediascape. When manga-panels start echoing peer-reviewed articles… It becomes hard to see the need to suspend disbelief. At least not in the same way. It makes things seem so much more possible. Everything feels so much more personal.

The current pandemic has helped in this process of course. My life has been turned upside down and I often find myself asking ‘dude is this (still) happening???’. It makes a lot of stories and speculative fiction narratives seem a lot closer. But then the final arc of Birdmen introduces its own pandemic SEVERAL months before covid-19 is first spotted and we see a roll-out of cultural fallout that is eerily familiar. WHO press conferences following the resignation of Eden’s director. Forgetting your mask as you leave to greet your son’s arrival home. Teachers taking a sick day for themselves or perhaps out of caution (if only that worked state side lol). Misinformation and tension across social media. Unrest and riots in the street. (that image of Robin’s flock watching the riot from a distance got me big time. Mostly because I was thinking about the Capitol riots at the time). I think I just needed a chapter devoted to a successful and seamless vaccine distribution to set my resonating heart at ease.

...I’m not kidding there actually. We can’t just assume it went off without a hitch Tanabe. Can I get some wish-fulfillment here??

That actually brings me to a big takeaway as I read the final chapters. In my initial reflection, (and entire year ago) I talk about how I was certain Birdmen was prematurely cut short. And while there is probably a world Takayama could witness in his multiverse seeing eyes, where Birdmen runs for several more volumes and the playout of years of arcs goes much longer, I ultimately want to rescind that thought. 

I don’t think the ending was rushed. I don’t think Tanabe was racing against a clock to wrap things up. I don’t think she was dropping million plot threads into the void out of necessity. It is very clear at every point toward the end that Tanabe knew exactly where she was going and was taking a straight shot to that destination at every point. 

Yes, there are some characters that did not get a long enough time in the spotlight. Yes, there is a boundless potential to explore with many characters and concepts. Yes, there is an element of fallout that was left unaddressed. But this doesn’t make it unfinished or unsatisfying. The mundane, realistic nature of the narrative, allows this lack of tangible book-ends. It has uncertainty. The resolutions are not perfect. Not every person in your life is going to shine in the same way (no matter how much you like them). Their purpose in the narrative may seem small but has ripples of effects on the characters and chemistry of the collective. This is not wasted. I knew this wasn’t rushed because the primary themes of these characters came through and they were given all the space and time and panels they needed to tell that story. I noted this most when Robin was having that discussion with Agent Leo about her address to the media at the White House. The back and forth and revelations of Robin’s entire arc were expressed in this one conversation and it lasted several pages. This is the final volume of the story and this nuance is getting the full dry clean treatment. How can I claim that this was rushed? If I had to claim any ill intent I might say we would have gotten a few more chapters of proper fallout, but that would only be for the sake of neatness. But as I mentioned there is something grounded about taking that away and leaving that to the imagination. 

And thus, I’m left feeling incredibly satisfied. So impossibly satisfied. Birdmen has become something so integral to my life and I feel changed having known and loved it. To see it take a bow as gracefully and profoundly as it did fills me with a personal satisfaction I cannot put into words. This is and will forever be, one of the finest stories I will ever read. 

There is a part of me refreshed. Inspired by the daring embrace of reality. Charmed by the beautiful characters. Intrigued by the possibilities still to be discussed. I am almost left a little overwhelmed with how much I want to do as a response, both for the sake and honor of Birdmen and for my own personal motivations. It’s a kind of weightlessness, burdened by crippling fear. 

It’s a lot like flying really. 

[ilikedetectives]

Hi, did you play every AC game? If yes, in term of game plays which are the easiest? For someone without much experience in games, ty!

Not every AC game, because I can handle only so much of cookie cutter games at a time. Before I say more, lemme get this out of the way first: I played the Ezio trilogy back in 2018 because Da Vinci’s Demons was cancelled and I wanted more Da Vinci content and the white and red hoodie looks cool. In other words, I didn’t play the game because it’s called Assassin’s Creed.

The AC games I played so far, by the order of which one I play first. I’ll rate gameplay by my personal preferences (because it’s the only way I know how).

Ezio’s trilogy (AC2, AC Brotherhood, AC Revelations, played in 2018): decent parkour, minimal grind (just invest in the villa and you’re a millionaire in a day or two), very story focused (perfect balance of historical and modern plots). Decent combat. The golden years of AC and I agree.

Unity (played a few months after Ezio): good parkour, medium grind (bigger map and more items to upgrade, you still get to invest in properties so it helps). Time-saver items are on sale for real money aka MTX (ew). Combat is ok, not much difference since Ezio. Historical story is meh (I don’t care for Arnold because Elise’s story is more interesting) and they completely ditched the modern plot (you think Odyssey has little modern day plot, try Unity). Buggiest AC game I encountered and I played this game 4+ yrs after launch (hold on to that thought, keep reading). Ubi spent all of their time and budget doing the interior design (which is gorgeous btw) that they have none left to fix the bugs.

Black Flag (a few months after): chasing flying papers is my favorite activity to NOT do. Grindy af (no property investment). I can’t tolerate the controls for the ship so I hate everything that involves ship in this pirate game, except for sea shanties. You’ll have more fun playing this game as a pirate than an assassin. Combat feels the same since Ezio. Other mechanics are like Unity (understandable). Modern plot is minimal, but it makes bloodline irrelevant and there’s a....soul inside a computer server that wants to possess a human body, meanwhile said soul’s husband is a maniac who has unlimited reincarnations (realism, I know). Black Flag is the gateway game that convinces me that I should stop wasting my brain cells in “what kinda bs realism is dis?”

Odyssey (a month after launch, bought solely because of Kassandra also when I heard Odyssey is set before the creed, oh fuck yea I don’t need to sit through another rehash of Creed crap or at least minimal anyway): oh gods a breath of fresh air from the old controls where you have to hold R2 whenever you want to run and my fingers hurt sfm. Climbing is the best because the protag actually moves where you want them to move. MTX (ew). Grindy but because the combat and movements are smooth, best combat so far; I don’t see Odyssey as grindy because I enjoy my time playing (also Kassandra); I platinum the game on PS4 at around 130 hrs I think, could’ve been earlier but photomode. Fun quests that I giggle whenever thinking about them (I don’t remember shit about any quests in any other AC game, but then again Kassandra). People bitch about no parkour but who parkour in the 450BCE?!?!? Full disclosure: I never cared for parkour and never will. I stop caring for modern plot after how Unity and Black Flag handled it. Playing Odyssey makes me realize that I enjoy AC games more if idgaf for the AC aspect, rather, I play for the fictional historical tourism aspect. Just ditch the AC and voila, blue sky and fresh air. Playing Odyssey also makes me realize that I want a spin-off IP that focus on the Isu so we can go full fantasy. Do I need to say how pretty Odyssey is? lol

Origins (planned to play Origins first, but Kassandra. Also, I remember Amunet from AC2, but somehow we play as a dude in Ancient Egypt, I’m not too eager to find out, despite I prefer Egyptian mythology over Greek and I’d like to thank Yu-gi-oh for that): combat is clunky, heavy, and slow, though no need to hold R2 to run so phew. Grindy af. The bow mechanics is a decade outdated (Horizon Zero Dawn came out the same year and oh boi the difference is night and day, oh yea I played HZD before Origins. I get it the bow isn’t the focus but does it have to feel like Skyrim in 2017?). I’m glad I play this game for the Ancient Egypt (which is beautifully designed *chef kiss*) aspect and no more. 

Syndicate (I play this along side of Origins, still haven’t finished it though. Literally bought the game for Evie and I nut over Victorian fashion): combat is no different from Unity. Grindy like Black Flag and Unity. Story is meh in both historical and modern plot so far. Evie is the only reason I’m still trying to play this game. At least the Helix outfits are included in the Gold edition of the game. Victorian London is gorgeous tho.

Valhalla (only care for this game because Eivor. Tbh after God of War and Hellblade, idc for another Viking game): game is buggy af, buggiest AC game I’ve played. Combat is like Origins but worse: the only saving grace is the finishing move & the bow mechanic hasn’t been improved since Origin; I honestly would rather have combat from the Ezio games over whatever-this-is. You have to toggle a button to run now, which is dumb af because I miss Origins and Odyssey automatic run. They bring parkour back (because Vikings totally dig parkour back in the Dark Ages) as well as the-character-doesn’t-move-where-you want-them-to from the older games. Chasing flying papers from black flag is back, no thx. Looting enemies is useless, but hey you get to run around to look for a key or two or THREE to get some minimal amount of materials; so imagine if 2/3 of every chest in Origins and Odyssey are locked. Oh! You have manually pick berries/food to heal, no healing potion, wtf is this half-ass RPG shit? Side quests, oh sorry World Events, aren’t tracked in an open-world game (guess who hasn’t been doing these bitches?). Grindy af. I’m wasting my time looking at the skill points interface (you have 99 lv in Odyssey, 55 in Origins, 403 power in Valhalla. A game doesn’t feel like grindy if you level up every 2 quests for 403 times, does it? lololol). The useless SP tree is so massive that I just don’t use the skills I acquire because it takes too much time to find out which buttons to push to locate the 10 skills in this 403-dot clusterfuck, but the astronomy design is beautiful (gotta give credit when it’s due). Scummy practice from Ubi: releasing “time-saver” pack AFTER reviews are published. Also, who wanna bet there will be more mtx outfits than in-game outfits? Don’t worry, Ubi makes inventory management cLEaNeR for you *hands over 8 outfits for an RPG game*. The free event bugs tf out of your already buggy event, but hey, you’ll get a free outfit that’s a reskin of what you already have, teeheee be grateful. Eivor is amazing but by the gods playing this game is a chore. Tbh I only play Valhalla if I don’t feel like playing Ghost of Tsushima that day. Lastly, why is England so yellow like it’s Ancient Egypt?!?!? And why the sunlight moves faster than Eivor’s running at full speed? Which parts of this game does realism count?!?!?!?

Unsolicited opinion: GoT is an example of how an AC game should be and how DLCs should be handled, but with Ubisoft it will never be and I’m so fucking glad that it is Sucker Punch Prod which handles feudal Japan with utmost respect and realism. See how “honor” is handled in both games and compare the writing. Ubisoft should have announced ding dong AC is dead and create a new IP, but AC is their most financially successful franchise so expect more of this MTX, I mean, grindy RPG approach with minimal narrative. 

[heironymous-smash]

…And nope, I'm not referring to oral sex.

CW:  Living in a puritanicalish society, this is one of the cool Life Truths I don't get to discuss very often, but screw it (heh), I'm here and I've gotta post something today.  This is knowledge I've earned through hard work and deliberate experimentation and long thought, so here it is.  And yes, to be explicit (lol), as the title indicates, this post contains information about sex.

If you hate reading about sex, then by all means skip this (there'll be another post tomorrow!)

…But if you hate reading about sex because you feel like it should be "automatic", a thing that just flowers out of a crush or a date and then, y'know, happens, be aware that in this post, I'm declaring that you're BAD AT SEX.

—

I'll keep the backstory short here so as not to embarrass either of us, but it's relevant to know that I've put two decades of conscious experimentation into sex — at least as much work, writing, and trying things as I've put into sleep.  And I had reasons for this — I was really screwed up initially, given SO much bad information and some early non-consentual encounters that messed me up about it badly.  And when I determined to "fix it" by figuring it out on my own, I found that I had to change and challenge a lot in order to find what "good sex" even was. 

And what I found is what's in the title:  You can absolutely gauge whether anyone, yourself included, is good at sex based on how well they use their mouths — or hands, if they use ASL — i.e. how comfortable and willing and experienced they are at communicating about sex with someone they'd like to have (or are having or have had) it with.

I've reached an age where sometimes teenagers ask me about sex — I probably make a good target because there's grey in my hair and I'm not afraid of swear-words, nor has a sex question from a kid ever shocked me.  In truth, I'm way more shocked at how many adults can't summon the wherewithal to answer simple questions you'd think they know by now.  Questions like "how do I do this right / avoid doing it wrong?"  That your standard adult answer sounds something like "don't do it" or "stop thinking about it" strikes me as violently absurd, and also harmful, since avoiding thinking about sex is one of the real fast roads towards being awful at it, and potentially hurting yourself or others.

Sex is not an emotionally safe activity, just like rock-climbing isn't a physically safe activity.  That's why we have safety gear, and why smart people require that you have a basic amount of training and awareness of what you're doing in order to participate in it.  We don't want children to have sex because they're too young to do it safely, but once their bodies are ready and they've developed an interest in it, you'd think we'd give them the tools to do it right and as much advice as we could.  But we suck at this.

Rather than talk about why, though, I want to just go ahead and give the advice — yes, the advice I give to teenagers and adults alike, and which, by the way, kids are perfectly capable of understanding.  (The adults are too, but many of them really don't like knowing that they're doing this wrong and need to work harder at it.  There's a myth out there that adults magically get their Sex Card sometime in college and from then on out get to claim to be good at it.  Yeah well, HA to that.)

—

THE BASIC SKILL of sex — for you tabletop fans, the stat you roll for it — is COMMUNICATION.  It happens and matters first, and during, and also after and in-between.  Being good at it gets you laid, makes you better during the act, and makes you a better lover to have, and to have had.  Here are some (just some!) of the ways this manifests:

  1. You let people know that you're interested in sex, and ready for it.  (I tell teenagers, "If you aren't sure if you're ready for sex yet, imagine being naked in a room with this person and talking to them about sex — what you want to do and don't, what your body's needs and desires are — and if you can't stomach the embarrassment and vulnerability of that conversation, you're definitely not ready.") 

Also, I'll say this here but it applies to all these points:  Doing this is sexy.  It turns people on.  If you don't have as much sex as you'd like…have you tried fucking communicating about it??

2.  You seek and listen to information from the other party(ies) about what they're interested in and ready for, then you confirm for both of you that activities X and Y are things you both have overlapping interest in and readiness for.  (Note that this requires being aware of what you're ready for and interested in!  Knowing this about yourself is a prerequisite, though it's true that maybe you don't know the details until you're right there contemplating it with someone — our interests definitely change by circumstance.  So not only do you need to know your basic yes-and-no's; you also should, especially by the time you're an adult, be able to feel what they are on the fly, at that moment.  And if you have the slightest worry about your ability to do this, never, ever have sex drunk/high, because drugs inhibit this part of your brain.)

3.  Once you're touching each other, you feed data back and forth, through words, noises, muscle-tension, facial expression, etc. about what is pleasurable and "working" for you, and what isn't.  If the more subtle communication methods are confusing (common when someone's new to you, but happens all the time), you back up to using words to make sure.  You do this because you know that going slowly and taking communication-breaks is FAR preferable to (and sexier than!) hurting or squicking each other. 

4.  After Stuff has been Done, you check in — at least once, more if you're awesome — and share thoughts about how it went, how it felt, and what you both might be interested in doing later/again. 

—

It's astonishing to me how many people — sometimes people who've been having, or trying to have, sex for years — think these steps are somehow optional or unimportant.  That's like saying your ropes are unimportant in climbing!  It IS the cultural narrative, I get it — in the movies (romantic or porn or anything in-between), you rarely see these parts happen.  The "ideal sexual encounter" we're fed involves some kind of telepathy or accident that makes everyone magically consent to and express their enjoyment of things; total strangers are assumed to have completely understood each others' needs based on a single glance and a tiny moan.  (And I won't harp on this, but so as not to skip acknowledging it:  The root of that icultural story is in misogyny; it almost always goes badly for the woman — whose job in that automatic script is to "give in" to what the man wants — and it's one hair away from real rape, though which gender(s) are taken advantage of can change in any particular circumstance.  Seriously though?  The opposite of rape is consent.  And the basic requirement of consent is communication!  THIS ISN'T HARD. :P)

The idea that good sex will happen automatically, without clear communication, is just about as smart and realistic as how guns in movies never need reloading, never make anybody standing next to them go deaf, and kill you instantly only if you're a bad guy.

The above four things are SKILLS, yes — you need to do them and pay attention to them, and as you do so more, you'll get better and faster and more artistic about their execution.  (And oh man, th higher / artistic levels are FUN, I assure you.) 

They do NOT happen automatically, or as a magical result of your pheromones.  I don't care how good your phereomones are, or how attractive your face or whatever is.  Those things do not produce good sex — good communication, and that alone, does.

And by the way, like anybody new at a skill, I used to get super nervous and kinda hate the experience of doing them — it was scary, especially when it didn't go great.  But after a while, I got comfortable with them, and now, I love doing them — I even love doing them first — because they tell me immediately if the person I'm considering bonking with is going to be any good at it.  By cultivating those skills, I not only made myself into a universally-lauded Good Lay (what; it's my blog; if I can't brag about that here then where can I), but it also gave me an iron-clad system for knowing when it'd be better to just politely say no and avoid an unpleasant experience with someone:

If they can't overcome their embarrassment to talk with me about sex, they 100% cannot have good sex with me.  OMG the amount of bad sex I've avoided just by making "you must be able to talk about it" my rule!  \o/

If they keep looking for an "automatic progression" of things instead of checking in with me about what we're both into, ::BUZZER NOISE::

If they're clearly not watching for or interpreting my reactions (and pausing to ask me if they aren't sure what they mean), hell to the nope.

If they refuse to tell me what they want (yup, this happens), there's the door.  (I'm not going to sully my excellent pants-reputation with sub-par encounters with people who clearly can't dance. :P)

Sex sometimes happens according to an unspoken social script, sure.  You both have some drinks…you lean in…you kiss…you grope…you fondle…you remove clothing…etc etc…but I will stand by my assertion that GOOD sex almost NEVER happens this way — especially not more than once!  (If you have enough drinks or don't have much experience with really good sex, you could interpret that automatic BS as "good enough", sure.  But you'll get sick af of it, if repeated, precisely because it isn't involving what you actually want at all.)

—

In closing, it's amazing to me that people of all ages will buy books and read articles and ask eager questions about, like, what specific geometric shape they should make with their tongues at what speed for what duration in order to "please their partner", but when told that the answer is talk to, pay attention to, and check in after with your partner, they screech like vampires given a garlic sandwich.  Dude, that IS sex.  Asking and noticing and clarifying and responding to another person's body IS SEX. 

If that's too difficult or embarrassing for you, for all our sakes, don't have sex.  If you do, you'll just be awful at it.

If you're lucky enough to be trying it with me or someone like me, you'll at least know you're awful at it, and probably not get very far before you get told to go home — and that's a huge boon for both parties, believe me.  What's really saddening is when "you", whoever you are, try it with someone else who doesn't know about this, and who thinks the way to do it is to let you fumble around and use them to get off on, and then they have to deal with that suuuuuuuper gross feeling the next day of having had really terrible, impersonal, uncommunicative genital-play (I won't even call it sex, frankly) … that makes me upset just to contemplate.  So if this rather revealing post does nothing but save one person from that experience, it was worth it!

Happy f****** !  :D

[chromemuffin]

Shoukoku no Altair Liveblog (Chapter 10)

It’s Mah-kun again! I swear, these adorable chapter cover pages will be the death of me. Not only because they are cute, but because they tend to be quite bittersweet as well. Seeing tiny Mah-kun with that HUGE sword is so ridiculous but at the same time incredibly sad.

I also really appreciate the differences in his outfit then compared to now. This one is a lot more casual, less put-together. Iskander is small enough that he can wear a shorter glove instead of the long one that goes up to his elbow (I do so love how much research is put into this damn thing). But also, his pants and the cloth wrapped around the ankles is far messier than his current clothes, probably because he’s not wearing boots at this age but still, it contributes to his younger self’s image.

But omg Iskander looks like a duck at that angle.

Warning: this post got REALLY long whoops

Chapter 10: Chief of the Eyes and Ears

btw, going with whatever titles the fan translators decided on. I only have the first volume raws and the official translation only has volume 1 I think.

Ok, so proper introduction to the worship of the water spirit that was mentioned last chapter. The five elements thing is nothing unusual, neat how it has apparently spread across the continent though, making these representations quite diverse. We only see four here, though.

Alright, so back to Mahmut trying to use this pyramis charm thing.

lol I. Sort of like this weird expression.

Iskander are you okay. What is with those eyes are you looking up or something...? I do like those claws though, very sharp and deadly. Can you imagine those coming for your face at full speed?

Also, Mahmut here is just. Cute. And Turkish interior design (or at least this world’s Turkish interior design) continues to confuse me. What. Where is the floor. What is a couch/bed and what is not.

Oh, ok, at first I thought those eagles on the cliffs were people coming to attack the town or something. Phew.

Actually, it’s nighttime. They really can’t fly around at night (irl, for this manga narrative-wise unless you want to restrict Iskander to only being present during the day, this had to change).

Almost forgot to mention: pensive Mahmut here. His eye was also drawn very prettily here.

In exchange for the unrealistic part about eagles flying around at night, we get this neat bit of realism - Mahmut can’t call upon other eagles to help during the summer and autumn months. I like that restriction. It makes sense, rather than let him call up some birdy friends whenever and wherever possible.

His expression is a bit lopsided here, I guess it’s half fondness and half ‘it’s a pity’ sort of thing.

Look, I sympathize, I would totally be that person, too.

Unimpressed, ‘ugh’ Mahmut.

WELL, that was a sudden introduction, I guess they really trust that those pyramis charms won’t fall into the wrong hands and the people who use them are the intended holders...?

lol Mahmut. What’s with your face. Iskander is better, though. His expression is kind of, how you tell what Mahmut is thinking here. Though Mahmut looks sort of disgusted, unimpressed, there’s probably still shock in there.

I like the cup.

I wonder if it pained him to say that, as if he is Zaganos’s underling. Well, his rank is far lower now, but it’s not like he’s one of Zaganos’s men. Not sure what the fine details at work are, since I don’t have the raws.

lol this sounds like a game. just like a game.

This guy is very dramatic, though. Why did you not bother warning Mahmut what the other spy is like.

“Huh?” expression? He looks younger here again, haha.

I’m extremely curious about what sort of person Zaganos is, actually, but I’ve been told his story comes in drips and drabs across the whole series.

Mahmut’s face tends to look really cute in the manga. At certain points, he appears less adult than he does in the anime, which is quite hilarious seeing as I complained about the anime portraying him as childish before portraying him as a badass general/serious guy.

omg I love how even Iskander’s feathers are blowing in the last panel. Not sure how much force it would take to actually ruffle a bird’s feathers like that, come to think of it...the tend to lay flat, except maybe the fluffy chest feathers of some birds (I spent my childhood watching animal planet and the discovery channel ok).

U-UM. EXCUSE ME. MR. AWESOME. You really should get that cloak fixed, or maybe invest in a new one.

But UH. LOOK. HOW BIG. HIS BIRDY IS. (I was actually informed way back in the first chapter or so that falconers with female eagles would make an appearance, but holy this is a great entrance.)

I will be freaking about who this guy actually is a little further down, so I’ll talk about his birdy Katerina here.

Starting this series, I instantly liked Mahmut because he’s a falconer and that’s awesome. But I was 100% prepared for the series to forget about the sexual dimorphism between male and female birds of prey, it happens in most media. (females are almost always larger, and usually by a great deal, but in most media there is no size difference or the relationship is inverted) 

I was glad Mahmut got Iskander, a male bird, because Mahmut is tiny (about 5′4″ officially I think). A smaller bird suits him better. Female golden eagles are 8-15 lbs and males are 6-10 lbs, it just makes sense that he doesn’t have 15 lbs of bird to tote around.

Imagine my surprise when I was told that someone does have a female golden eagle in the manga, and she is appropriately larger than Iskander.

I’m just. in love. with this manga.

Dramatic shading is A+ here.

I think there is another spelling of his name out there, but I forgot what it was.

But HEY YOU. So there were other people from Mahmut’s clan that survived, probably whoever wasn’t in the village at the time. Come to think of it, did the manga ever mention Mahmut was the last of his clan? I don’t think so. Everyone from his village was wiped out, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the clan is dead. aha, take that ‘last of your kind’ trope

(btw I like his rugged look)

aw

This was sort of confusing, so I’ll leave the notes here.

Perhaps a mix of uncertainty and something else here. I wouldn’t say sad or anything, but it’s a bit troubled.

oh man. xD I wonder if he ever tasted it before, he was young when he left. I mean, he probably drinks at this age given the time period, but I guess nothing quite so strong.

PRINCESS. oh my god. I’m dying. was. was that actually 姫 in the raw or something else? (I can think of one alternative, but I’d love it if it actually was. princess.)

That is both endearing and hilarious at the same time. I was going to stop watching the anime but. maybe I need to pick it up again. I love everyone’s voice except Mahmut’s so.

I need this to be in the anime. So I can tell what that term really is.

ANYWAY, BACK ON TRACK. Aw, I like the expressions in these panels. It’s just. I love the bonding over your respective birds. And someone who can understand his attachment to Iskander.

Also, Mahmut’s slightly embarrassed face lol. Is that little blush from the alcohol or embarrassment.

And I like the clear size difference between the birds.

The feathers look so good.

Also, Iskander is quite tiny like his owner, I mean, look at what this birds look like irl next to a person:

HUGE.

I’m. Just going to end up screen capping the whole chapter, aren’t I.

Aw, this whole part is just.

Is Mahmut a fast learner? He was only five when everyone died, that doesn’t leave much time to learn.

I like how he is clearly a younger man in this panel from 12 years ago. More clean-shaven.

THIS MANGA NEEDS TO STOP TEARING OUT MY HEART.

I wonder how large their clan was, actually.

So, um, that’s why strong drinks don’t bother him. And I see the theatre continues to piss everyone off. How reliable.

Heey younger Zaganos. Still looks like your face is getting consumed by your hair, but he does actually look a bit younger, too. He’s quite young now, even, so. I forgot if his age was mentioned though.

I don’t really know this guy too well yet so it’s hard to tell, but man, that grief, rage, and helplessness. Perhaps that question “Why didn’t you save them!?” is directed at himself as much as it is to them. 

The tone of this translation makes it hard to tell if he’s conflating the play with reality or if he’s just being snide (he’s being snide/contemptuous of course). But for a second there I was ???

This is heartbreaking, that’s what this is. And yeah, he does have survivor’s guilt.

Funnily enough, Zaganos’s physique here resembles Mahmut’s current one to me. He is a lot smaller/shorter 12 years ago (I just like how the adults actually age in this thing, ok. well, and Suleyman’s experience has aged him in a different way)

Oh, ok, he was 14. So he’s 26 now.

Must resist the urge to wonder what Zaganos’s story is because if I do it will be torture waiting for the pieces to unveil themselves.

But damn, and I thought his hair was eating his head before. I was wrong. He’s in 100% medusa mode now.

I was trying to steer clear of this train of thought, but Mahmut brings it up. The narrative (and Mahmut himself) are trying to compare him and Zaganos. They are/were similarly determined to do something for their country, but Zaganos actually knew how to do that, he was more pragmatic since he was young.

Which begs the question: what the heck happened in his past to make him that way? At this point, we don’t even know if he came from a wealthy background, if he had a normal life or a more tragic past like Mahmut, it’s all up in the air. And yet the narrative urges you to compare him to Mahmut when there is not much to go off of.

Which is, coincidentally, the same position Mahmut is in. He might know a little more about Zaganos than us readers, but it doesn’t matter. To him it feels like he’s going up against this huge force he cannot fathom until it hits him in the face, and we are similarly in the dark.

idk I like the way the narrative presents this, is all.

Gold.

“I take it you dislike Zaganos Pasha?”

“Of course not! ...a little...” His expression there is really scary, haha. I don’t even know what to make of it.

lol what’s with Iskander. Wait, is Iskander supposed to be “laughing” with Suleyman?

As if there wasn’t enough drama for one night.

Pwee is actually...a good way to describe how these birds sound. Go listen to the cry of a golden eagle. Poor things don’t exactly have the most majestic of cries.

I appreciate the very devilish face here.

LOOK. Look at how shocked Mahmut is. To be called something so familiar. (not sure what this would have been in the original...ugh I wanna know.)

OH WAIT. Is this lady the one who survived being attacked by the eagles and having a burning tent tossed on her?

I have way too many images in this post. But this is a looong chapter for some reason.

and these are very good, look how nice that shot from below is so you can see all the stars.

Katerina’s wingspan is MASSIVE (apparently it can reach a max of 7.5 feet so, like, it’s not like this is even an exaggeration)

This is actually a very nice bit of research. And true, as far as I know. I even found this fact from the San Diego Zoo/a research article on the species: “Red items excite golden eagles, as does the sight of blood; they will attack people wearing red.”

UH. THAT’S NOT GOOD. Also, kudos to the villain lady for actually doing research on the things she got attacked by last time.

Ok this post is getting way too long BUT know that I appreciate how the mangaka drew the blood splashed on him.

ONCE AGAIN. This is terrifying.

Extra terrifying because this is the end of the chapter. Mahmut, how will you get out of this now?? You’re about to become bird food.

← back・onward →