#Cryptic compositions

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

Hi I had to go do stuff hcbcb but yeah! I'd guess the three of them were led to Len's basement separately bc they might overpower him if they were brought together (specifically Piko I feel might be able to get away, Len might get away with bringing Fukase and Ollie together) Also that segways into the fact I was thinking about if parts of Them would be protective of another/comfort them? Like one trying to keep another in a non painful position or having it hide behind them y'know -🌟

🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ maybe yes maybe no, there's a lot of different things to consider

and hmmm tho i hadn't really thought abt that... its' consciousness is weird, ofc nobody knows for sure what its' thoughts/emotions are like, but maybe it would be try to be comforting at times ye... in a way it is just trying to make itself feel better, wouldn't want to be collectively unhappy

[with-my-calamitous-love]

WHAT IF I TOLD YOU NONE OF IT WAS ACCIDENTAL?

dazai x reader

the first night dazai saw you, he knew nothing would stop him.

for his birthday!

inspired by mastermind

osamu dazai, for all his life, had not felt the warm bliss of love. he did not have a mothers arms to lay in, or a fathers protection to shield him. he didn't have the privilege of a second family through friends, or even the comfort of loving himself. osamu dazai was not given love, not even for a moment, so he taught himself how to gain it. he was only cryptic and machiavellian because he cared, more than he wanted to admit.

so the moment he saw you, he felt a desire stronger than ever. you wouldn't require just a simple trick or a con- no, you deserved more. he laid out the groundwork, equations in his a mind a labyrinth of desperation only you could suffice.

osamu dazai wanted you.

and he knew how to get you.

honestly, who could blame him?

dazai was a master of people. he knows how to play people like puppets to get what he wants. none of it was accidental when it came to you. the coincidental run-ins at your favorite coffee shop that was at least a 30 minute cab ride for him. the times you conveniently forgot your umbrella when you swore you packed it, and dazai just happening to be passing by on your walk home. even the time you had just been dumped by your ex-boyfriend over the phone, and dazai just happened to show up at your doorstep just checking in.

maybe you should have noticed how fabricated it was at first. but you didn’t. dazai wanted you. and he made you want him.

dazai made you want every part of him. his silky hair his deep brown eyes, his honeyed voice and his suave way of walking. he made you want all of him, the good and the bad, his charm and his want for death, his desire to be good and the deep dark past of who he once was. dazai played love like a puppet show. whenever you laid on his chest, snuggled into his warmth, or when your lips were hopelessly pressed against his, dazai knew he had you. he knew he made you want him.

whether you find out or not isn't a concern to the brunette. you love him unconditionally anyway- you're his belladonna, his love, his everything. when he kisses you, the planets and stars align as if all of the pain in his life had led him here. the empty core in his heart aches at the thought of being eased, as if afraid of being happy. but your touch melts it away. you see that he is so touch starved, so deprived of love that he just had to assess the equation of you. he did this for as much for you as he did for him, knowing that he could live through even just one more day if it meant he could love you.

he needs your fingers to intertwine with his the way a chess player needs the queen. he needs your warmth like the largest gear needs the smallest gear in a machine. he needs your reassurance like the way water needs oxygen. because osamu dazai understands a lot of things well- chess, machinery, chemical compositions, and the way you love him. he knows its a need. he knows he needs your love not like his inner child wanted candy, he knows he needs your love the way the flower needs the sun.

his eyes stir awake, sunlight filtering through the curtains of your bedroom. his skin tickles, his cheek being peppered by your kisses. a smile tugs at his lips as he stretches his arms over his head and then around you, greeting you with a "good morning" in the deepest morning voice you have ever heard. dazai was usually light sleeper, but with you he could truly rest and escape into the sheets with you.

"happy birthday, 'samu." you hum, tracing your fingers down his abdomen. every contour of his bandaged yet muscled chest screamed at you to love him with everything in you. you would kiss every inch of him- starting from his hair to the very depths of his soul if you could.

"hm?" he quips, coffee eyes slightly widening.

you chuckle. "its june 19th."

"oh."

in all honesty, his birthday is the last thing on his mind, especially when you're in front of him. you are so, so, fucking beautiful he isn’t even sure you’re real. not just beautiful in your absolutely angelic complexion, but you're beautiful simply when you're you. when you're on top of him, the new sunlight on the earth dancing on your skin. lips bruised from the night's fleeting passion, hair messy and soul absolutely smothered in him. you drove him crazy, and he'd gladly lose his mind for you.

"thank you, bella." he hums, lazily draping an arm over you, as if there was anyway he could possibly pull you closer. dazai would find a way if it meant loving you harder. never, in a million years, did he think his partner would drag him out of bed and to the living room. he rubs his eyes, finding the agency standing in your apartment, an excited atsushi and a begrudging but willing kunikida, surrounding a cake for him. he never thought it would turn out like this, this good. he's stunned for a moment- a rare emotion for the young prodigy. was... this also apart of his plan?

maybe not. but as he kissed you and whispered a passionate "thank you" into your ear, he decides that this wasn't planned- it was luck. and he loved it. funny how sometimes you just find things.

[thewertsearch]

TT: Then why do you bother with the conversations? Obligation to predestination, as usual? There is no obligation. It's a pleasure. [....] I've always had a soft spot for young ladies.

Ew.

TT: Suddenly this conversation is kind of terrible. [...] There should be no reason for you to feel uncomfortable with this interaction. Try to think of me as one of your kindly human uncle figures. In fact, if I were in your presence now, I would offer you candy to prove it.

Ew!

TT: Can we talk about the scratch instead of this?

Please!

Man, this guy really did come right out of a child's nightmare.

You are situated near the game construct supplied by your session for causing the Scratch, yes? […] It will always be an edifice of similarly cryptic design, located on the planet that is home to the Hero of Time. Its environment dictates the nature of its construction. Its power is dangerous, and is meant to be utilized only in emergencies such as yours. TT: You mean, in sessions where victory is no longer possible? Yes.

A panic button, then. Since it's located on the Time planet, I'm guessing it's some sort of undo button - a universal ctrl-z for broken sessions.

Maybe this is why the Scratch opens rifts. If you're stretching the fabric of time across an entire Incipisphere, it's bound to tear a little.

TT: Is that sort of emergency common? […] Failure is common. But the composition of yours is quite atypical.

And whose fault is that, Doc?

TT: Then, it's like a panic button for the players to push once they realize the cause is lost. Yes, but causing the Scratch is not an easy task either. The construct must be destroyed in a very specific way to release its energy.

Why isn’t it an easy task, though? Wouldn't Sburb want to give sessions another chance to propagate existence?

Well.... if a Scratch can rip holes in reality, the game probably doesn't want to hand them out like hot cakes. Maybe you need to prove to Skaia that your session is worth the risk, by demonstrating your competence in one final challenge.

You aren't ready to cause the Scratch yet. […] TT: What will the one who does it have to do? I should let them know. He will have to scratch the surface of the plateau across its full diameter. […] You will require a certain needle to create a breach in the surface that will be adequate. […] The needles must be acquired from the denizen of the Witch of Space. Her quills are very large and potent. They will be able to cause the Scratch.

Makes sense to me. Echidna is located on the Space planet, and reviving the session should probably be a collaboration between Time and Space.

After all, we don't just need to fix Sburb's plot.

We've also got to repair the setting.

TT: This really seems more elaborate than you lead me to believe. I didn't lead you to believe anything. I told you to find the construct and await advisement on the Scratch. The plans you were making were based on assumptions and fabrications of your imagination. You were writing more stories, much like those about your false magical men.

I know, right? It's almost like she's a child completely out of her depth, and you're taking advantage of it.

[doyouremem8erme]

mutual 1: save me doomed yuri. save me

mutual 2: i think id be happier if my boobs were replaced with small and friendly sharks

mutual 3: who wants to get trapped in a narrative with me. it does have to be weird

mutual 4: (13 consecutive reblogs of fanart of a podcast ive never listened to)

mutual 5: hey check out this insane piano composition youll be zonked out of your gourd

mutual 6: (insanely detailed and vibrant art) drew this in the bathtub lol

mutual 7: what if wolverines invented religion. they could make vehicles out of abandoned shopping carts

mutual 8: i love my blorbos what do you mean theyre my ocs. from my brain

mutual 9: theres something so beautiful aboutmaking fun animal noises. BARKBARKBARK AWOOOOO

mutual 10: (screenshots of a straight couple) theyre lesbians to me. theyre doomed yuri. do you see my vision

mutual 11: i love violence. women who love violence hmu.

mutual 12: the ibm system/360 has an almost sexual quality if i'm being honest

mutual 13: (art that could easily be seen displayed in a museum as a work of a fine master) its the yaoi

mutual 14: my idiot cat ate my entire fucking cake??? (# hes ok)

mutual 15: oh hatsune miku we're really in it now

mutual 16: (image of a character who has killed thousands and injured many more) shes like a sopping wet pathetic cat to me

mutual 17: i think i huave autism

mutual 18: (the same cryptic meme reblogged 50 times, interspersing with the rest of the dash)

mutual 19: for vampires drinking blood is like a sluttier version of eating pussy. especially if its gay

mutual 20: (responding to an incredibly vague and mysterious ask with no context) hello mutual x. i know its you

[grainjew]

Nikaposting Pt 2: Symbology & Syncretism

This is the second of a series of posts about Nika & associated religious practice in the One Piece world. As I write and post the rest of the series, I’ll add links to this header.

Pt 1: Crypto-Religion | Pt 3: Joyboy was Shandian | Pt 4: Sun God Tropes

Enormous credit to @oriigami for being my discussion partner through all of this and having a substantial influence on the final product. Check out our ao3 series Joyful for a narrative rather than analytical take on the Nika tradition, and definitely go read her OP blog @kaizokuou-ni-naru for meta and translation fun facts.

-

So About That Sun Symbol (and all those sun gods)

Context note: This post assumes you’ve read pt 1. If you haven’t, the TLDR is that the Nika cult is best categorized as a crypto-religion and may not ever have existed outside of a cryptic and oral form.

There’s a lot of sun gods in One Piece. And there’s a lot of appearances of that sun symbol we discussed briefly in pt 1, with the disconnected rays. This post will cover that symbol, the survival of non-Kuma Nika cult branches, and the proliferation of sun gods across the One Piece world.

The sun symbol can be found everywhere, in what seems at first to be a wildly disparate collection of places. There are a number of borderline cases, so I’ll be defining the “Nika sun symbol” as being any symbol with a central circle, disconnected rays, and four- or eight-fold radial symmetry. This leaves us the below list (images of the majority of these instances can be found in this very helpful post):

The Kuma-Bonney/Buccaneer version found in his church and on the amulet he left for her (8 circular rays) ; this is our basic template for the symbol

The Alabasta national symbol (8 droplet-shaped rays; the droplets seem to be drawn at various different orientations depending on the panel)

The Kozuki crest (8 circular rays in the center of a bird in the center of another circle also there’s some sprouts or something)

The Shandian crest (8 circular rays inside a larger circle, also the central circle contains the kanji for kami/god)

The Sun Pirates’ mark (4 more traditional flaring rays; the rays seem to be drawn inconsistently, especially in the anime)

There’s also Ace’s dagger, which has the basic template version, but one can assume he bought that thing in Alabasta or something like that.

From this we can conclude that the sun with disconnected rays is not exclusively a Nika symbol- in fact I would be surprised if it was, because of how prominently it was displayed in Kuma’s church (see the discussion in pt 1). However, Alabasta, Shandora, and Wano are all poneglyph countries, and were all involved in some way or another in [incomprehensible void century muttering]. I would be extremely unsurprised if the sun with disconnected rays wasn’t a more widely-spread popular symbol among [void century muttering] countries back then, which was adopted by Nika worshippers as their secret symbol around that time and simultaneously retained in more benign form by certain nations as an element of their national symbology.

(Sidenote: If you were unaware, Oda snagged this symbol from a castle in his hometown and clearly just seems to enjoy drawing it. However that doesn’t matter to us in meta analysis land. We continue.)

The Nika cult absolutely survived outside Kuma’s family: at the very least, among slaves on Mariejois. There’s a very high chance Fisher Tiger heard Nika stories while enslaved- the compositional similarity of the Sun Pirates’ mark to the base Nika symbol, Jinbe’s pissed off refusal to answer any of Who’s-Who’s questions, Fisher Tiger’s own status as a warrior of liberation, and of course, the Sun Pirates’ name and the importance of the sun to the residents of Fishman Island all point in this direction.

The proliferation of the Nika sun symbol across the world also points, to me, to at least pockets of the Nika cult potentially surviving in cryptic form across the world, like Kuma’s family did, with various levels of conscious awareness about what their rituals and symbols actually mean and what secret seditious knowledge they’re actually carrying.

However! All that said! Not all sun gods are Nikas- At least, not completely.

Upon their arrival at Egghead Island, Dorry and Broggy identified Luffy as the Sun God. However, I contend that Nika was not originally Elbaf’s sun god.

In expository Nika dialogue, Nika is specifically cited as a god of slaves (& as an ethnic or cultural god of the buccaneer people), and the giants as far as we know are (1), not a traditionally enslaved people nor particularly easy to enslave, (2), are based on Vikings & have their own pantheon which includes a god of war, & (3), while I can absolutely see how a tradition of a prolonged fast > feast festival would have evolved around a Nika figure, it does still feel a little strange. That’s supposed to be a Luffy-alike!

Besides this, the Shandian pantheon also includes a sun god, and I think it’s reasonable to assume that the sun god in question existed prior to any awakened user of the Nika fruit running around causing issues (although, more on my thoughts about Joyboy and Shandora in pt 3). Human sacrifice traditions also feel about as odd for a Luffy figure as fasting does, and while obviously Luffy, Joyboy, and Nika aren’t the same person, with the way One Piece’s narrative conventions work they’re probably quite similar.

Solar deities are the lynchpins of many if not most traditions in the real world. Sun’s a very notable noticable thing that follows a set course across the sky and brings light and life! And especially in One Piece, where the sun is also a critical thematic element and motif, I would be surprised if the majority of One Piece cultures hadn’t developed their own sun gods at some point or other.

So, all that said, why were Dorry and Broggy calling Luffy Sun God? Syncretism.

Not every god has a mythical zoan or the things would be wildly more common- only gods and figures with, as @oriigami put it while we were talking about this, a particularly potent wish attached to them. Even fewer gods have awakened mythical zoan users around. So when an awakened user of a sun god’s mythical zoan is running around (and particularly, a sun god with an incredibly potent wish attached, because Nika is a god of liberation as well as the sun, and it’s a god that people wish they could be and emulate as a matter of course), it’s easy to fold them into your mythology as your sun god. Tradition is very malleable! He’s the sun, even if he’s not exactly how you traditionally pictured it.

Traditions are very good at working with what they get, and at the moment what they get is a smiling, laughing pirate captain and liberator of slaves. What could be better?

[gamelpar]

CLONE TROOPER TECH - PLAN 99 || WHEN HAVE WE EVER FOLLOWED ORDERS?

Forgotten Anne / The Bad Batch s2e16 / You’re Gonna Go Far, Noah Kahan / Frankenstein, Mary Shelley / Loss, Hilda Doolittle / @whereicarusfelll on tumblr / Welcome to Night Vale / Nintendo “Quit Screen” message / The Worm King's Lullaby, Richard Siken / Departure, Erika L. Sánchez / Twilight, Louise Glück / full composition of tbb s2 cryptic messages, @KinerMusic on twitter

a tribute to the final episode of the bad batch arriving tomorrow!

[joelletwo]

[IDs from alt, 1: natsuyuu fanart of nanase and yorishima passing on a street, yorishima looking back at her but not turning around, while nanase fully stops to say something to him with a smirk. 2: taki and matoba as young kids dangling their feet off a balcony overlooking a room full of exorcist artifacts, matoba clan motifs, and two obscured adults. taki, wide-eyed, says "hey, what are they looking at?" and matoba, bored, replies "you don't know?" 3: textless closeup of the kids]

BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR ME EXORCIST EXTRAVAGANZA <3 embarrassingly many months ago cal @coquelicoq asked me to draw nanase and yorishima hanging out or the kids hanging out. and both those ideas lit my brain so much on fire that i had to marinate and marinate and marinate on them and i still have ten thousand ideas im not sure what to do with but for NOW!!! fun compositional practice :3

nanase and yorishima are hard bc u cant put yorishima in a room. he refuses. their relationship is passing cryptic remarks every eight months when they cross paths in town and theyve kept it up for 40 years

and i have. preexisting thoughts about the matoba family being nosy about the taki family lol. i think maybe after taki granddad passes they express Polite Interest in some of their records which means meetings for baby taki to run around exorcist houses poking into everything she can find and pestering weird older kids there who are happy to give her Just enough info for her brain to go wild

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

Some (too many) mental notes & questions about D. Gray-man!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH. 247 & sorry if the terms used are awkward esp. the localization of the manga, I read it in french!)

I recently re-read DGM as the new chapter came out. I stopped catching up after volume 22 years ago and I am so glad I re-read the series!

If it was already beautifully sad and cruel, the volumes 23 to 27 hooked me even more. Like other manga (eg. Witch Hat Atelier, Berserk), the panel composition was already beautiful in the previous volumes but I was fascinated through my reading. The attention given to hands in these volumes (like MHA) was mind-blowing!

The Allen-Kanda-Johnny-Link group (and now Tiedoll) works really well, I didn’t expect that at all! Oh, and the character development/decline of every character is great, especially Allen & Neah, Kanda & Link (and Cross and Road in those flashbacks?????).

DGM wouldn’t be DGM if the mysteries didn’t keep growing even more cryptic as the story unfolds, so I guess here are some notes and questions I’ll come back to one day to see if they are answered!

► Now that we know the D. in DGM stands for ‘Dear’ (I already sense the tragedy in the title for both Allen and Mana aaaaa), I don’t know if this was intentional, but Mana in front of the mirror strongly reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray, especially the end (I shouldn’t have read this scene late at night, I was spooked haha). The characters of Allen and Neah, shrouded in mystery, also encapture the elusive personality of Dorian Gray.

► Paying extra attention to all the parallels between the Ghost of Mater & the Artificial Exorcists Arcs was Pure Pain. I’m always amazed how far the details go and make (even more or a whole new) sense later on.

► Lenalee and Komui’s story touched me once more aaaaaa ► Miranda’s power is really cruel, I wish we could see more of her someday ;;

► Road used for super-human the word ‘choujin’, which also seems to refer to the concept of übermensch in japanese ie. the ideal superior man of the future who could rise above conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values... NOW THAT IS INTERESTING.

Especially regarding Road and Cross meeting & Allen’s prophecy as the ‘Destroyer of Time’ (the fact he could ‘sense’ Lenalee’s dream and interact with it, Cross ‘death’ by Apocryphos hands, past!Allen’s mystery over his rejuvenated body, Apocryphos observation on ‘Allen’s’ long existence as a parasite, and so on …)?????????????

And could she have a link to Allen and Lenalee’s dream of the future?

► The overarching theme of humans, akuma, Noahs and even the Earl at God’s/The Heart’s mercy manifests in many little plot points eg. the Ghost of Mater (that could even foreshadow the whole Cross/Road meeting), Road dressing Lenalee as a doll, Lenalee and Miranda taking their suffering as the Innocence testing them, Link turned into a puppet, Crown Clown and so on …

► Could this be Campbell’s mansion Allen will visit in the next chapters… ?

► Reever’s devotion to Komui ;;;;;;;;

► Fascinating how everyone except Allen is at risk of becoming a Fallen One, despite everything he does ‘against’ the Order, God and the Innocence: it could be explained by the role he was given by the Heart now that we have a bigger picture And it is foreshadowed since the Suman Dark Arc:

-> When Allen says Suman betrayed ‘God’, the kanji for god is used (kami), but the furigana read as Innocence:

And Allen even says later the Innocence punishes sinners as God itself, devuring Suman from the inside like a worm ……….

-> While Komui says he has betrayed God and the furigana read as God this time:

I love the word plays in the original versions with the furigana (I wonder if this has a name?), another example:

The kanji for family, kazoku, is read as the english « home », which we always saw used to describe the Order as a comforting place to return to: the Order was never Suman’s home, he always longed for his family

► Will this ever be explained? That, and Cross's special bond to God or the Heart!

Also this????????

AND ALSO CROSS HATRED FOR TIMCAMPY???????????

► Could Cross be a Bookman?

Neah’s flashback mentioned an ‘excentric uncle’, so it could also be Cross, given how he remembers Mana’s smile from his childhood, I am Confused Or he could be their childhood friend, as his appearance in the flashbacks suggests he would've had the same age past!Allen, Neah and Mana would have, around 35yo? Idek anymore! Either way, he has an obvious hold over his age like past!Allen, maybe through magic or their nature?

Was the unknown language Bookman spoke when the Ark was disappearing in the sky the same Mana taught Allen? In Komui’s corner, we learn Bookman knew in advance they would synchronize with an Innocence when their mission began???????? Do they somehow have links to the Heart or Apocryphos? Are they from the doomed world Road told Cross, as some sort of witnesses of the Noah's struggles on behalf of God?

► Tyki’s nature is hinted at by Road even as early as ch. 93, and the confrontation with Neah in the volume 26 makes me really think he’s some sort of copy of him

► This panel is Pain:

► I love Lenalee and Lavi’s relationship so much!! Lavi’s arc was gripping, and took Lenalee’s words on the boat (‘am I still in this world?’) to a whole new context

► About Luberrier :

How in hell was he aware of the 14th without even Cross telling him? His dialogue with Zuu before saving Link strongly suggests he knew the 3rd gen. project would cause the Noah attack on the laboratory and the 14th awakening, isolating Allen, as though he made a deal with a Noah or sb else. The ch150 (Hevlaska and Luberrier’s past) is haunting me, I’m really curious to see where this is going!

► About Link : We know so little about his past, how he became a Crow, how his devotion was built by the Administration (Link’s flashback with Luberrier after recovering was scary, how easily he gave in & Luberrier’s whole behavior was ugh)! Komui’s corner mentions the two red dots on the Crow’s forehead are scars left by the operation that made them sorcerers against their will + Allen tried to touch it, which made him mad GAHHHHHH I NEED MORE CONTEXT

Ch247 hurts even more considering Neah used the same words as Allen to greet Link but rang false aaaaaaa

Link’s profile is cut from the Central Administration’s organization chart from volume 25 (when he admits feeling conflicted over Allen’s fate), before his profile was included in the same box:

Komui’s corner once mentioned comforting food thanks to the emotional value they hold eg. Allen and Cross’s porridge. Link says he had something similar so I wonder if this will ever be showed in the manga!

► About past!Allen: This might be a reach, but ch221’s flashback made me think Atuuda’s magic (its symbol in particular) can be linked to past!Allen with the whole spiral of life theory (+ the fact his body rejuvenated by some miracle):

There are also many parallels with other dynamics in the manga: -> Neah-Cross & Mana — he was set on eliminating anything else that draws near Mana, as a promise he made to Neah -> Luberrier-Link & Neah-Allen — Luberrier needs Link in order to protect and save them from anyone -> past!Allen & Neah — he promised Neah he would protect his memory from anyone (-> Kanda & Alma — he was the only one that could save Alma)

(I don’t want to think about Link potentially becoming another host for Neah, sacrificing himself for Allen for example aaaaaa)

I saw Hoshino’s sister loves Link’s character and what happens next to him will potentially be pure pain, I get her because his potential is skyrocketing and I’m definitely not ready aaaaaaaa

► What was even going on between Neah and past!Allen???????????????

► Allen’s past was really devastating. Mana’s words by the sunset ;;;;;

► In ch216, Cornelia’s wood destroys Timcampy in a similar way Red is bound eyes and ears from the scene when the Earl comes back in the circus in the recent chapters (with those little black hands)

► The parallels & oppositions btw Kanda & Link (the potential of the trio Kanda-Allen-Link!!!!!) : -> both presented in a negative light at the beginning -> both now deem themselves unworthy to be a part of Allen’s life: Kanda is glad Johnny is there to support him, Link says he will disappear from Allen’s life if he defeats the 14th (and also That Panel when he saw Allen come back to his senses and save Johnny). Both have feelings they suppress when it comes to Allen, in a stark contrast with Johnny’s honesty -> both were objects of experimentation/intensive training but Kanda feels no loyalty to the Order, while Link does strongly to Luberrier -> both wound up with a shortened lifespan they hide atm (Kanda as a Fallen One & Link with Atuuda) -> both were targeted by Apocryphos and had their memories rewritten -> Kanda wants to kill the 14th, Link is ordered to aid him -> hands shown as holding dominion over them both (the Innocence, Luberrier and the Heart)

► Predictions for the next chapters: Since Johnny is going along with Allen & Link, there’s a chance : 1) Link will drive Johnny away so Neah wakes up ; 2) Neah will do it since he sees everything through Allen’s eyes and even challenges Link’s ‘loyalty’ 1) would be logical as everyone in Allen’s group feared it while Allen accepted the risk but given the whole arc, Link seems VERY conflicted over the whole matter (and their shoujo-esque reunion damn, that and volume 25 whole vibes) Also Road seems to have led Allen to the mansion through his dream because she thought he was dangerous (????) AND a ‘bookman’ was there, so a lot will happen!

Have a nice week-end!

[stardust-in-my-mind-blog]

time is a tailor that alters

I used to think of time as the sand in an hourglass

love as a force to be wary of instead of a state of being

love is not measured in time but transformation

sometimes the longest connections yield little growth

sometimes the briefest of encounters change everything

the heart is connected to our hands as wings

our heart's ears hear outside of the limits of time

why else would a song take you directly to a moment

that you hold beyond the changing seasons?

the heart opens to resonance and seeks it

like a thorny rose it wishes to open and entwine

itself around things that enliven and nourish it

the heart hates stagnation and yearns for music

why else would it mimic its beat to rhythm?

the heart is an artist that uses time to alter

life's journey and composition for better melodies

I wonder what kind of song you hear when you think of me

I sing to you whenever I open my lips

do you feel the subtle connection in our entanglement?

maybe you're able to hear my songs in your dreams

the spirits around me giggle like fairies of fate

and tell me cryptic little things that make me smile secretly

"You need not know, you need to flow."

if there is anything I know how to do it's to

cascade and fall into a place where I'm lead

and I don't always drink where they tell me to

gravity is always calling me to you

I wonder if we mirror the light to each other

I wonder if I draw you to me as you draw me to you

are we both moths or are we both flames?

more than anything I think we resemble fireflies

shyly lighting up to show the other where we are

going dark the moment we are detected

what will happen when I light up and see you there

those eyes of yours trained on me so I can't disappear

I can't imagine past that because I want to let

the suspense and surprise be my guide

and let whatever passion rises to take hold

if ever I find myself in that kind of moment

I trust myself and I could learn to trust you

until then I'll keep dancing in the darkness

if it's meant we'll find our way in time

[gojira-ekkusu]

"Bukimisha the Weird Secret Society" a self-proclaimed ‘secret society’ has enthralled Japanese audiences with their amazing ‘a capella’ vocal stylings. They have transformed their love of film music into a unique art form, and built an impressive catalog of over 150 albums. Many feature Ifukube’s vast library of classical compositions and complete film scores. Bukimisha was even given the opportunity to perform before the legendary composer at one of his final birthday celebrations.

When asked, "What is Bukimisha?", their representative, Takeo Yashiro, responded cryptically, "It is a very difficult question to answer. There are two answers in this, and one is long, and one is short."

"The long answer is . . . 'Bukimisha the Weird Secret Society' is the ordinary gathering of [artists] well versed in each field, such as music, image, and molding. All of us are SF fans. Since members who belong to Bukimisha are working in their category, respectively, the goal changes with the member. And my goal is practicing my idea 'music being the lingua franca (language between) the world.'

"The short answer is . . . I'm sorry that I can't teach you about our ultimate philosophy because we are "The Secret Society'."

Primarily focused on Akira Ifukube's vast library of film and classical compositions, they have also recorded portions of Tohru Fuyuki's scores for Tsuburaya Productions, like Ultraseven (1967) and The Return of Ultraman (1971).

- From the liner notes for Godzilla & Friends vs. Ghidorah

[talonabraxas]

Monas Hieroglyphica (The Hieroglyphic Monad)

Written by John Dee and published in Antwerp in 1564, the Monas Hieroglyphica (‘Hieroglyphic Monad’) was conceived in 12 days, a period, so claimed the author, of Divine Revelation. It presents Dee’s unified glyph, the Monad, by way of 24 theorems, each demonstrating a variety of mathematical, geometric, cabalistic, and cosmological principles gleaned from the ancient world. Highly influential, the titular glyph was later adopted into Rosecrutianism by way of the works of Paracelcian alchemist Heinrich Khunrath, with whom Dee was acquainted.

Chiefly a work of alchemy, it is perhaps best understood as a preeminent form of ‘diagrammatic alchemy’. The inception of the Diagram, a visual representation of information to accompany text, goes back to antiquity, but saw great use thanks to the printing technology of the 15th century. Dee took this a step further, with elaborate frontispieces brimming with cryptic symbolism. In theorem 18 he states, "it is not Aesop but Oedipus who prompts me," hinting at the presence of riddles within the text (just as Oedipus was challenged by the Sphinx).

Though still a devout Christian, Dee’s thinking was heavily informed by Pythagorean, Hermetic, and Neo-Platonic traditions which each posited that the universe was comprised of linguistic and numerical laws. Thus the symbols and images of Dee’s Monas were not mere representations of processes, but the manifestation of Truth itself. As such, meditative study of this truth would work the necessary alchemical transformation upon its student.

Given closer inspection, we see the Monad is a composite of other symbols. Indeed, it was designed such that all associated symbols, be they cosmological, alchemical, metallurgical, and chiefly, numerological, could be formulated, along with their governing principles. Together they form the ‘Unit’, or Monad; a key scientific concept of the many-in-one.

At the base we have the double crescent of Aries, the celestial fire of transformation; next the Solar Cross, the four elements, the cardinal directions, the Crucifixion, and the Hermetic mystery of the ‘quaternary in the ternary’, the ‘4 in the 3’. Dee believed in the Holy Trinity, but also that all creation was embodied in the number 4, the Trinity plus One (the One being manifest reality). Though seemingly mystical and arbitrary, the 4 in the 3 was a mathematical principle describing a Platonic solid called the Cuboctahedron, a shape made up of 8 triangles and 4 squares. This structure provides great supporting strength at little cost to weight, and was popularized in the 20th century by American architect Buckminster Fuller in the development of high-rise construction cranes as well as Geodesic Domes such as the one at Epcot, Florida.

Moving up, we have the point and the circle, two basic principles of geometry from which all others follow. Together they become the Sun with the Earth at its centre (a pre-Copernican worldview), over which we have the horned Moon. These horns combine with the circle to present the Earth sign of Taurus, as well as symbolising the alchemical wedding of the Active (Sun) and Passive (Moon). Joined with the circle and cross we find the symbol for Mercury, that the ancient Greeks called Stilbon (the God of the Wandering Star), which they considered the prime planet and metal. All seven classical planets, and the metals of the ancient world, are also revealed.

Considered as a whole, we can view the Monad as the alchemical process, with the transformative, Promethean fire of Aries at the base, and silver (the Moon) and gold (the Sun) at the top, forming the Cornucopian horns of wisdom. It also has an anthropomorphic aspect of a contemplative, kneeling figure. This finds a natural comparison in the spiritual concept of the Kundalini, the upward progression of energy points through the body, from the root through to the Divine light of revelatory experience; as well as in the Buddhist practice of meditation, in which fiery Desire fades with the awakening to our true, wise nature.

Despite Dee’s somewhat tarnished reputation as a magician and necromancer, even his critic, the pious Andrestius Babius, capitulated to recognising the Monad’s importance as a standardising tool that transcended language; a true, universal, scientific notation. That it so keenly marries Science with Spiritual wisdom presents an opportunity of revelatory understanding for those who would still take the time to study it.

[persnicketypomelo]

Could you write what it would be like to have the phantom with a reader who is also "disfigured"?

Maybe the reader is albino, missing an eye, or just looks "different" and that's how they gain his attention. I'm just curious on how that situation would work out.

This ended up being far sweeter than I originally intended, but I think it's kind of cute

Phantom With "Disfigured" Reader

Being handicapped, abnormal, or unique in any such way destined you to a harsh and unforgiving life

Let us not forget that this was a time when your race, gender, and ability predetermined your possibilities in life

However, the main factor in your quality of life was the depth of your wallet

This was a time with no social mobility and vast income inequality

It is likely you would be born into the poor working class majority, even without any unique features, based on statistics alone

If you're grimy and donning ill-fitting hand-me-downs, the best chance you have is doing dangerous physical labor, or else in some other underpaid position to be forgotten

Perhaps, though, you are lucky enough to make yourself look sufficiently presentable to be hired into a prestigious opera house as part of the cleaning staff or costuming department

You secured yourself a better means of survival, and you couldn't afford to lose it

From the first day, you stretched yourself thin taking odd jobs for every department in an attempt to prove yourself useful

Unfortunately, your hard work made you absorb the tasks of those wishing to cut corners and slip out of some of their responsibilities

You were often one of the first to arrive as well as the last to leave, and your presence did not slip past the attention of the opera house's nightly resident

At first, the Phantom regarded you with annoyance

Admittedly, frightening the chorus girls that wandered like packs of lambs was entertaining, but that aside, Erik wished for nothing more than a comfortable salary, compliance from the managers, and solitude

One day he would complete his Don Juan Triumphant composition, and then lay to rest for eternity

But until then, he supposed there was no harm in observing you pace about the opera house late into the night

Your company was not at all bothersome, he came to find

You were quiet, focused, and didn't stray into his domain

Those were qualities Erik could appreciate

Not to mention, you seemed oblivious to his presence, so there could be no harm in at least watching you

It was only when you propped a lantern up to finish polishing the floors the night before a new production that he saw you up close

His heart, if it was even beating, paused a beat in his chest

You were like him...

His blossoming interest in you bloomed into affection in that moment

Erik knew the opera house better than the back of his hand, and all its happenings never went by unnoticed

The whispered exchanges and glances cast your way, the muttering behind your back, the uneasy silence the moment you entered a room...in an instant, everything connected in his mind

From then on, you might notice that the horribly mannered dolts who teased you and chattered about you when they thought you could not hear had...accidents

Sandbags falling too close for comfort, props falling upon them, cryptic notes among their belongings...

You heard many rumours of the fearsome and horrifying opera ghost that lurked the building during your time there

But with the unfortunate incidents occurring to your tormenters, you could not bring yourself to think ill of him, though he couldn't have known he was helping you

Perhaps, you think, smiling to yourself, this opera ghost is not so terrible as everyone describes him to be

[galacticcosmologist]

TG: save me doomed yuri. save me

CC: i t)(ink id be )(appier if my boobs were replaced wit)( small and friendly s)(arks

GC: WHO W4NTS TO G3T TR4PP3D 1N 4 N4RR4T1V3 W1TH M3. 1T DO3S H4V3 TO B3 W31RD

CA: (13 consecutivve reblogs of fanart of a podcast ivve nevver listened to)

EB: hey check out this insane piano composition youll be zonked out of your gourd

AC: :33 < (insanely detailed and vibrant art) drew this in the bathtub lol

TG: what if wolverines invented religion. they could make vehicles out of abandoned shopping carts

AT: i LOVE MY BLORBOS, wHAT DO YOU MEAN THEYRE MY OCS, fROM MY BRAIN

GG: theres something so beautiful aboutmaking fun animal noises. BARKBARKBARK AWOOOOO

CG: (SCREENSHOTS OF A STRAIGHT COUPLE) THEYRE LESBIANS TO ME. THEYRE DOOMED YURI. DO YOU SEE MY VISION

AG: I love violence. Women who love violence, hmu.

TA: the iibm 2y2tem/360 ha2 an almo2t 2exual qualiity iif ii'm beiing hone2t

TT: (art that could easily be seen displayed in a museum as a work of a fine master) its the yaoi

GG: My idiot cat ate my entire fucking cake??? (# He's ok!)

GT: Oh hatsune miku we're really in it now

AA: (image 0f a character wh0 has killed th0usands and injured many m0re) shes like a s0pping wet pathetic cat t0 me

CT: D--> I think I huave autism

TC: (tHe sAmE CrYpTiC MeMe rEbLoGgEd 50 TiMeS, iNtErSpErSiNg wItH ThE ReSt oF ThE DaSh)

GA: For Vampires Drinking Blood Is Like A Sluttier Version Of Eating Pussy Especially If Its Gay

TT: (responding to an incredibly vague and mysterious ask with no context) Hello ectoBiologist. I know it's you.

[canmom]

l'aventure de canmom à annecy - épisode DEUX - dimanche

was a good first day of annecy. tomorrow I'll hopefully have a chance to get pictures off the camera and illustrate properly, but for a quick writeup...

today the festival events began halfway through the day, so I went for a little wander around the city in the morning! I visited the Palace de l'îsle, which is the building you're likely to see in every photo of annecy, at the fork in the river.

here's a photo of a photo and a drawing, which is all i have on my phone:

it's a pretty storied building, variously operating as a mint, a courthouse, and a prison. in the modern day, its lower floors are mostly devoted to the history of the building, while the upper floors are something like an industrial history of Annecy itself, which is not just a pretty old slice of medieval Europe to bait the tourists, but also was in the years from the French revolution up through the 20th century something of an industrial hub, hosting a loooong list of factories.

next stop was the castle! this castle sits on a hill overlooking the city, and it has been home to a variety of nobles, all of whom added bits, resulting in what the sign describes as 'architectural inconsistency'. i was hoping for more history but instead I mostly found art! lots of grand landscapes - I don't know enough art history to place them but from around the late 1800s. they were, frankly, bloody impressive, and I think I could learn a lot about composition, lighting, brushwork etc.... the top floor of the castle was devoted to contemporary artworks, so generally much more conceptual pieces - acrylic panels that cast shadows of bones, fingernails embedded in sandstone, that kind of thing. I'll fully admit this isn't really my scene so I didn't really get it, but I also didn't really have time to look around more since it was movie time!

this year the theme is Portugese animation, meaning there are seven entire programming blocks dedicated to Portugese stuff. accordingly, the first set movies I got to see was a collection of Portugese animated films by a duo called Abi Feijó and Regina Pessoa - who were in fact there in person, though since they addressed us in French I only got snatches of what they said. In any case, their work is super bold and dramatic.

the film that brought them together, and probably my favourite, was Os salteadores (1993) [The Outlaws] in which two passengers in a taxi discuss the partisans who fled Franco into Portugal during the Spanish civil war. The driver reveals that he ended up commanded to drive a truck with five captured partisans to the Spanish border. A comical scene in which the guards, afraid to untie the men, have to help them piss by hand turns very brutal when the men are executed by firing squad the moment they're turned over. The driver is haunted by this story years later. It's an intense film, full of strong chiaroscuro texture and inventive warps and perspective shifts - something they keep up throughout their other films.

my other faves from this block include Clandestino (2000) [Stowaway] in which a nameless stowaway makes a perilous journey along a rope to shore, menaced by his vivid imagination, and Tragic Story With Happy Ending (2005), a cryptically metaphorical story in which a girl has a deafeningly loud heartbeat and a yearning to fly as a bird. You know, that bird autism. She kinda maybe either becomes a bird or kills herself at the end! There is something quite funny about how this block is subtitled 'a happy story' - indeed the two do seem very happy to have found such a fulfilling creative outlet but all their stories are super dark! all were tremendously well made though and I hope I'll be able to run an animation night on them soon.

at this screening I was sat next to a guy called Diego, who handed me a list of Brazilian and South American animation, and was quite surprised I think that I could name two Brazilian animated films and even show him the long article I'd written on it x3 anyway thanks to him I've got lots of stuff to cover for next time we do Brazil!

after that it started raining pretty hard and didn't let up all evening. the upside is that the rain brings out a lot of pretty colours. the downside is that, expecting last year's brilliantly sunny weather, I totally neglected to bring a coat.

the next two screenings were also in Bonlieu Petite Salle - maybe Pathé isn't open yet. anyway, the other theme this year is animation and dance. This block focused on "using materials and the concept of shock". It was indeed pretty shocking. The coolest one I think was Ossa (2016) directed by Dario Imbrogno, a stop motion piece about a constantly shifting puppet where the armatures, lights and camera were all part of the performance. actually i can straight up embed this one off yt!

with the theme being dance, many of these were more non-narrative pieces, and all were without dialogue. which is not to say there were no stories to be seen! The Triangle Affair by Estonian director Andres Tenusaar was a pretty out-there one, depicting a world of hand-headed people where everyone moves in groups of 2-3. a window cleaner flirts with cleaners inside (there's a whole recurring bird poop cum visual metaphor); he's joined with a group of... prisoners? in stripey pyjamas, overhead lines carry bicycles around, a taxi driver talks to tram drivers, then some birds who are attempting to divide up the world with chalk are interrupted by cats; the birds trick the cats into jumping onto the windowcleaner causing all the aforementioned characters to fall off the building and die. that's the best i can describe it. i think the audio of this one might have damaged the bonlieu sound system because there were weird pops every so often after that.

there was an AI one - The Crow by Glenn Marshall from the UK. basically the director filmed themselves dancing and fed it into an AI that transformed it into images of crows. it got the most tepid applause of any film I saw today by far - and honestly it was not a very interesting film.

Chrysalis by Damien Serban and Yann Bertrand used a kinda cool looking decimate effect to portray the jerky motions of a butoh dance, including a cool sequence where the dancer's heartbeat becomes visible in the sand, but unfortunately it was way too long and outstayed its welcome.

then we get to Hipopotamy directed by Piotr Dumala from Poland. this one... hmmm. not sure how I feel! I assumed the idea was something based on greek myth, because it seemed like something the Greeks would come up with, but actually the idea is to portray humans acting like hippos do. including sexual assaults!

basically a group of naked men approach a group of naked women who are caring for their kids. the first man approaches and tries to fuck one of the women, who kills him with a rock. then the rest of the men run in and things get quite violent. the camera doesn't dwell or linger on the sexual assault but it's sure onscreen! anyway most of the kids are killed, and when the men come back, the women this time go to them willingly - except for one, who watches from deeper water, her child still alive.

i put this one in the genres of 'naked people do stuff' and 'what if humans did animal stuff'. it's funny that I've been doing this long enough now to start recognising that kind of pattern. i usually do like films to be pretty graphic, and this one was undeniably technically really well drawn and shot, it just was a lot to take in in the theatre there.

after the dance it was time for more Portugal stuff! this time we had films by the BAP animation collective. these were varied. by far the best ones were the three codirected by David Doutel and Vasco Sá, namely Soot (2014), Augur (2018) and Garrano (2022). Each of these depicts a moment of intense emotional drama - a man recalling how his brother died on a railway, a cattle farmer trying to handle his mystic cousin and prize bull as winter closes in, an abused boy and a garrano horse in an arson incident. These guys' eye for lighting, composition and texture is extraordinary, and these films are full of fantastic animated acting in a semi-realist style and incredibly strong sound design. I loved all three.

The other three films in this block were more abstract in general. Purbleboy is full of inventive animation, but I found its trans allegory kind of clumsy. The Sounds From The Drawers is a neat musical stop motion piece using a huge variety of objects. Drop by Drop was initially described as being about desertification, but I think they actually meant desertion, since it's about the last four inhabitants of a largely abandoned village, unified by the image of the Careto, a festival character who's like a kind of masked demon guy - the guy introducing these films demonstrated to us how the masked men sidle up to women and dance to 'initiate the sexual encounter' or something like that. In this case though he was not having sex, just gathering up the four inhabitants on a floating island as they lament the situation. I didn't really connect with this one, honestly.

After that... I had sushi, and tried to get into the opening ceremony, but no luck. I did get to chat with some animators and students and we all ended up going to Café des Artes in a big group, so I got to have a nice chat with some Americans, all sheltering under the canopy! I showed some people the Little Witch film and they liked it, so that's definitely a shot in the arm.

tomorrow the festival really gets going. I can't wait.

[lifeisjustawasteofdeath]

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Fall Out Boy. The lyricism is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of musical composition most of the songs will go over a typical listener's head. There's also Pete Wentz's homoromantic outlook, which is deftly woven into his lyrics - his personal philosophy draws heavily from the sport of tennis, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these lyrics, to realize that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Fall Out Boy truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Pete Wentz' piss roulette which itself is a cryptic reference to Russian roulette, a form of gambling. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Patrick Stump's genius unfolds itself through their headphones. What fools... how I pity them. 😂 And yes by the way, I DO have a Fall Out Boy tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.

[hikennosabo]

trimax vol 9 random thoughts

sorry if you saw this post disappear and reappear in the tag multiple times, i was fighting for my life much like wolfwood using trial and error trying to get it to even show up in the tag because tumblr is a functional website and not fucky in the slightest. </3

i wrote this post extremely sleep deprived 2 days ago let's GOOOOO

also heads up for potential spoilers for tristamp since i talk about it a little. even though i spoiled 98 untagged in my last post. sorry about that

chapter 1:

someone in the book club tag (don't remember who it was, sorry) said something about sharing food being a love language for wolfwood... :') wah...

^_^

why is this thing even on the building in the first place. and for that matter how did the dog even GET up there...... whatever

hi razlo. i don't know where to say this in the post so i'll just say now i unintentionally spoiled myself on razlo's identity because i was googling when i shouldn't have been. all totally my fault LOL [anime girl bleh gif]

the boy didn't even have the decency to wash the blood off his hands. kid, please, you're not doing livio any favors here.

livio manspreading on the couch... chapel, have you considered there's another reason why livio's breathing might be "irregular" as he helps you take his former home hostage? hmmm?

^ FUNNIEST PIECE OF DIALOGUE IN THE WHOLE VOLUME

thank god for livio, this guy was doing a speedrun on being the most annoying one-off minor villain--WAIT is he kicking him with his hands in his pockets? that's SO funny. i'm liking livio more and more.

chapter 2:

"he shouldn't be that old" <- the kids would be expecting wolfwood to be, hmmm, in his early 20s, thereabouts? ww looks around a decade older than that...

he's giving... something here. it's the combo of the glasses and all-white outfit i think. the y2k fashion vibe.

who is saying this? livio? razlo? both? chapel, since he was the one just talking? also, nice visual metaphor!

this is obviously NOT the reason wolfwood spared these guys, but this is reminding me of when oda said that luffy doesn't kill his opponents because shattering their dreams is worse than death. LOL

also i am convinced nightow drew this chapter for the sole purpose of making wolfwood do cool shit on his motorcycle.

that being said, all the cool shit wolfwood does is immediately overshadowed by livio CATCHING A BOMB IN MIDAIR AND THROWING IT BACK AT THE GUY WHO SHOT IT. stampede livio could never do this, he's too skinny

chapter 3:

people have already said stuff about this page, but I Also Want To Say Stuff. the wispiness of the smoke, livio's hair blowing in the wind... it feels very much like the calm before the storm, simultaneously serene and tense. and i LOVE how wolfwood is shaded in grey, while livio is the one shaded in black. fantastic contrast and composition, i adore it.

why is this razlo's first note to livio. "!" like...?! you're letting livio know you exist, but giving literally no other information like at all? okay. razlo's a bit of an oddball, to put it mildly.

the rest of his letters are... well they're not "normal," i guess, and not any less cryptic, but they are kinda sweet in their own way.

knowing who razlo is i love the way his introduction scene is presented. livio is keeping information from ww and from the reader, so it's both literal and not. also razlo is appropriately unsettling, i wish he would stop... unhinging his jaw like that.

...also who tf told him about EoM?! this is a difference with stampede... stamp!livio joined EoM because he wanted to follow wolfwood. no razlo involved in the decision-making, as far as we know. compared to here in the manga, livio left the orphanage on his own, so there isn't really a clear timeline on when ww joined EoM vs when livio did. we don't even know if he knew ww was in EoM at all.

also upon rewatching this scene for this post i got distracted by legato's lack of ass and had to pause because i was laughing too much

the guy is literally flat as a board help

*cough* anyway. razlo is only alluded to and never named or even really shown, except for a very brief very blurry reflection, so his level of involvement in... literally everything is unknown.

speaking of characters who are weirdly absent, chapel isn't around either...? i thought maybe they combined his character with conrad, but he DOES speak in livio's memory, i even checked the credits for his seiyuu. (hiroshi naka - he voices a lot of old men but most notably garp from one piece!) i don't really know how his role in all this has changed, if at all, since conrad seems to be the one in charge of the experiments...? and i really... do not like what they did with conrad in stampede, he went from being shitty but having nuance to just being extra shitty... okay, tangent over.

oh, this fight is so WEIGHTY!! i love it!! they gave a lot of weight and physicality to the livio vs ww fight in stampede too, (and all the fights, for that matter), despite stamp!livio's loss of bulk... it's a really fun fight to watch!

chapter 4:

OHHH..... okay.... soooooo.... this means he's coming back in stampede season 2 i assume?

not to go off on another tangent but this is the second time this has happened to me... i went into stampede more or less blind (oh how things change) and so when knives died at the end of the season I HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE HE WASN'T DEAD... but then i saw people talking like he would come back in season 2 and i was like, "how?? he DIED" and then i read the manga and i was like oh. and now with livio too. i thought he served his narrative purpose and then died. and he shot himself through the head, which is notable because that's how ww killed monev who was ALSO a subject of EoM's experiments in the tristamp universe!! so i had no reason to believe he wasn't dead!!

i dont have that much to say about this chapter because it mostly consists of the fight, but OH what a fight it is...!! i know i should be rooting for wolfwood, and i am, but livio is just so COOL in this fight. they're both cool...!!!

also, how many little glass vials(tm) does wolfwood have?! honestly, it's amazing that he still has any at all left to drink, it's a wonder they haven't all shattered already with how much he's been thrown around. especially because the one he drinks from CRACKS when it hits the ground... these vials aren't exactly bulletproof, lol.

THE HUG...?! UUUEEEEAAHGHGHHGH

MESSAGE TO ALL BITCHES ughhh ww looks so pained here. when he told vash that his blood runs cold when he points his gun at livio... he's feeling that through this whole volume. man.

something about brothers fighting each other... vash and knives, wolfwood and livio... uagh.

chapter 5:

HEY CAN WE KILL CHAPEL ALREADY??

oh, the punisher is taller than him... i was trying to get an approximation of relative character heights recently, and i saw somewhere that the punisher is 5'7, the same height as me...

also, 10 punishers, huh... wolfwood's is one, razlo has three... does chapel's count even though it has a different design...? do livio's handguns count? will we see the others? is there even a significance to the number...?

oh great, is this another wolfwood death flag?! we haven't seen him drink THAT many of them so far but still. hope chapel keels over already. i know ww's making an effort not to kill people but can he please just shoot chapel in the head. also wolfwood's pose in that panel... he's kinda serving cunt

OH, THIS SPREAD FUCKS!!!! once again the CONTRAST... THE STARK BLACK AND WHITE... SO COOL!!!

so these guys work for razlo specifically, i assume? not livio? also... just who are they? random EoM goons?? why are they so loyal to razzy???

and he has a mechanical third arm. somehow. sure okay

^ um... trigun lol [roll credits]

oh, it's tri-p as in tri-punisher. i thought it was the word "trip" and didn't question it. ...although "trip" could still work.

--also, wait, hold on, upon rereading i noticed razlo's left ear is covered up (by... something) and it's making his head shape look uncanny (more like a skull?!) and now i have to scroll back through the previous chapters to see if livio has ears. [several minutes of scrolling later] okay, he DOES have a right ear. okay. another pointless diversion for this post

chapter 6:

razlo was a real one for killing livio's shitty parents!

also another thing i'm noticing! razlo opens his mouth pretty wide, while livio doesn't open his mouth much at all... i mean okay there are a ton of differences in physicality between the two of them, but that one in particular stands out to me because last volume i complained that i couldn't tell when livio was talking because he never opens his mouth LOL

spraying wolfwood with blood and guts is a fucking wild battle tactic bro. also i'm convinced that nightow gave razlo three punishers for the cool factor first and foremost. three crosses also brings the scene of jesus's crucifixion to mind... but nahhhh it's definitely the cool factor. unless...?

"killing and violence! killing and violence! :D"

ALSO CAN CHAPEL DIE ALREADYYYY PLEASE

VASH MENTIONED!!! i'm so caught up in wolfwood's story rn that i haven't even really thought about the fact that vash isn't present in this volume at all... and then it evolves into a fucking. memory montage. stop with the montage please that's another death flag

and... oh man... wolfwood getting back up to fight because he's thinking of vash... and last volume vash said wolfwood is his reason to fight... both of them staring death in the face and thinking of each other... oh my god. ohhhh my fucking god. oh my fuckign god you guys. VASHWOOD.

oh, looks like i lied when i said vash isn't in this volume, he's right here

...and that ends that volume. i said more than i thought i would... sorry for the rambles and tangents, i wrote this post running on about 3 hours of sleep lol. time for something lighter as i await next week's volume, let me continue to rewatch the 98 anime... what episode was i up to... ahh... 22, huh...