#Extracted from my mind

[rayroseu]

I really appreciate the beauty of Malleus New Year's card. But most importantly, other than its gorgeousness, I also appreciate how it pays so much homage to his status and character, from the flowers, the clothes, and the setting. 🥹

We know that wisterias were prevalent in his Dorm Groovy SSR, this time its another flower which is the red plum blossom here😭❤️

In Chinese philosophy, the Plum tree’s blossom is a symbol of winter ending and a herald of spring. The tree’s pale pink blossoms are cherished because they bloom vibrantly and so bravely amidst the winter chill. They symbolise perseverance and hope, as well as, beauty thriving in adverse circumstances.

The way this flower's meaning is so matched with Malleus' character is so precious. We know he's "the herald of spring" because his birth brought forth a hope that the Draconias(or the faes in general) won't die out just yet (the ending of winter) and the fact that this flower blooms even in winter probably symbolizes the fact that when he was an egg, he was still perservering to live. This also applies to his life as he grows up. With the way even if his life is riddled with loneliness and exclusion, he makes an effort to go out and adjust himself with others, he doesn't give up even if his reality consistently places him in situation where his goals can never be achieved (that is, him being accepted socially and him being ignorant of human culture but still makes an effort to understand it), he just continues to be hopeful that someone/ some place will invite him, therefore his ability to thrive in adverse circumstances.

The way he slowly rises in this card makes me feel like it symbolizes how slow paced Malleus is "in going out/getting used to outside of his comfort zone", actually lol. He described his admission to NRC as him being nervous because its an unknown place but still hopeful for the experiences that he might get(acccording to the vignette of his GloMas SSR), just like him here rising from the snow and the way he lifts the veil which makes me think he wants to see the world outside of his country's point of view with his own eyes.

Japanese tradition holds that the Plum (or ‘ume’) is celebrated as a protective charm against evil, so the ume is traditionally planted in the northeast of the garden, the direction from which evil is believed to come.

I also read this symbolism which makes me tear up lmaooo 😭Because we know in Book 7, Briarland was invaded from northeast where the Silver Owls originated from 💀 The fact that the plum blossom is a protection flower and he's surrounded with it in this card makes me think that it symbolizes how protected he was during Briarland's era 😭and another thing to dissect from his slow rise from the snow with the fact the plum blossom signifies protection is probably the fact that he took so long to hatch despite many people caring for him.

Side note that in Malleus Bloom Birthday Groovy, it implied that he was born in daytime during a snowfall, and he was happy experiencing the winter, just like in this New Years card where he's smiling against the heavy snowfall 🥹

In Japan, plum blossoms symbolize good fortune, an auspicious flower, along with pine and bamboo, and the arrival of early spring. They are often used as the design for New Year’s greeting cards and other celebratory occasions. (And maybe this is just the likely reason why this flower is here in Malleus' card and I'm overthinking it above lol

Next thing I want to mention is his clothes, that attire reminds me of the formal outfit of a Japanese Emperor (From what I searched, its called sokutai, but what Malleus wears is much more simpler I guess, its a outfit derived from it which is called ikan.) This post is a great overview about these two outfits.

Ikan is the work clothes of nobles and government officials in the Imperial Court after the Heian period. Sokutai is a formal costume for those from the Emperor to the court nobles in and after Heian period (Heian costume). Ikan is called 'tonoi (nighttime) costume', whereas sokutai is called 'hino (daytime) costume'. (which probably references the fact that he's a night fae)

The point is, what Malleus wears in this card is a very traditional garment that only high ranking Japanese officials can wear. But what he wears isn't the clothes of an emperor yet, but just for a high ranking official, which is accurate to his status that he's still a crown prince not yet the king, because only Maleficia truly rules Briar Valley right now.

I love the decision that they made him wear such a prestigious outfit because the story of the New Years event is the characters working on customer service lol Its like his clothes is a reminder that he is still highly distinguished even if temporarily he's a worker.

Lastly the VEIL !!!!!! That's the thing that catched my eyes the most in this card lol I KNOW they're not referencing a wedding here because the veil don't look the same, but its so good not to mention that the one of the headress of a Japanese bride is called tsunokakushi and its description can be related with Malleus a lot lol.

The term is a compound of 角 (tsuno, "horn") + 隠し (kakushi, "hiding"). This derivation is listed in some sources as a reference to hiding a bride's "horns" of anger, jealousy, or other negative qualities, in order to present a more virtuous image for the wedding. However, this interpretation might be a folk etymology resulting from a shift in the reading and meaning.

The headdress and the veil aren't the same thing but I kinda feel like this is the idea they're going for considering the veil is 1) hiding his horns, 2) he's a character associated with being jealous, and most importantly, 3) only the person he is looking at can see his face (which is the point of most wedding veils/headdress, to hide the bride's face so that only her partner can see it).

But long veils, like the one Malleus is holding is also just a garment for a noble to hide their nobility. Which is this is probably the likely reason, considering he's using that veil to cover up his horns and his clothes, the most obvious features of his status.

Also, it could be just a fun reference to the fact that Maleficent in live action wore a long veil to hide her horns so that she wouldn't scare the humans lol

[nataliescatorccio]

tumblr likes to pretend it's the home of the quirky non-conformist kids but in reality it has one single braincell and that's currently screaming 'vanilla extract'

[flufflecat]

roughing out some concept sketches for more bill fashion designs

[sometimeswritingsometimesdying]

i know the novels are controversial but i mean? mastermind seiji? i need a secret spy au desperately

[adorablegorilla]

You can will one into existence, choose: A Girls' Last Tour movie finished up the last few chapters or a single cour of a Shimeji Simulation anime.

I can act like this is a hard choice and go over it in my head again and again but at the end of the day it was always gonna be the single cour of Shimeji Simulation Anime

[starlene]

I redrew the Utterson/Jekyll sketch that almost broke my scanner. The new one only crashed my photoshop once, which I'm choosing to interpret as a good sign.

Unfortunately though, as often happens with these things, I like the first sketch better despite everything wrong with it. So heck it. I'll just post them both.

Based on that fic I wrote last week.

[tetsuskei]

i need a childe detox

[lem-argentum]

f.uuta’s singing voice is so good he should’ve just made music instead of being a cyberbullyfnksbfkhekfbwkfjwkhf

[prettyokwizard]

I wish for this last week of crushing anxiety thinking abt making art to begone. Back ye demons!!

But in all seriousness I've been really thinking about what I've been sketching. I love fun no-think sketches! They make me happy! But I can't help but feel the want to keep pushing for more substance and emotion. I know it's gonna be hit or miss since plot writing isn't my strongest skill but I am coming to terms that that's okay. I will push past it and finish my short mourning ship comic now that I'm in the clear of busy times. I. Will. Finish. It. And feel good about it!!

[dravidious]

You're more amazing than difficult philosophical questions

I heard somewhere that X-1 is one of the hardest X missions in UtK1, and having just beaten X-2 on my second try with no particular strategy, I think that's probably accurate.

Also, using healing touch in UtK1 is supposed to give you an automatic C-rank, but I got a B-rank in X-2 even tho I used healing touch. Turns out that fandom wikis are indeed full of lies.

[3moe5me]

thinking about how curly got put in that pod with soggy ass bandages

[iamthepulta]

That post with a bunch of open pit mines and "your culture" has me losing my mind at 8am lol.

This is what not teaching history, metallurgy, and resource management in school does to a society. Everyone is getting a lesson on Indian diamonds, Nigerian iron, SW turquoise, and Cyprus copper tonight.

[ofj-art]

I’ve been away forever bc life has been a bitch but I swear I’m not dead

[tooies]

most of this past week hasn't been the best for my mind-music-studio but today has been really good

[olessan]

I love the fact that I can work as hard as I can manage with a broken tooth and a dying tooth (one on each side, I've been chewing on the cavity for a year) and I still cannot save even $10 towards getting dental treatment (2 impacted wisdom teeth, + tooth broken off under the gum, + bad cavity) because I barely make enough to cover my food and board and the insane energy bill

[fuzzyunicorn]

More on Pain: firstly, know everything the lil Satanists do is a direct inversion of everything the Divine does; so no shit the lil Satanists “created” a God (Pain) who was intended to be like god, the Creator-god (Creator-gods is something I will clarify later just know only 3 of them exist). I put created in quotations bc the lil Satanists can’t actually Create shit they can only splice shit together… did u all know the lore on Nephilm is total bs? Let me set the record straight: do they actually come from Fallen Angels? No. Do Fallen Angels exist? Yes and no. No in the sense actual full fledged ones are not permitted to Exist. At all. So the yes part of the answer is? Reference many months ago me mentioning the Divine doesn’t allow cracks in the system— Fallen Angels are only shall I say temporary. Meaning they only “exist” in the 1st Universe (the one we are currently in) which is crudely put the Learning Universe. The 1st Universe is for new souls to learn, grow & ascend. Which is where ascension into Anglehood & Godhood takes place. So the only Fallen Angels that actually do exist are ones who screwed the pooch during their training to become actualized Angels. That’s why I said temporary. But yes their DNA is spliced into the DNA cocktail made by the lil Satanists (but keep in mind it’s not actually Angel energy/power they just say that to make it seem better than it is stronger than it is) They needed weapons for their doomed wars & so very badly want to be just like god (just the evil version lol). Splicing shit together is not Creating it’s just mashing things together that have already been Created & seen before n Destroyed (remember the Spiral how the current lil Satanists are NOT the first original batch of Satanists). I’ll also have everyone reading this post realize here & now you are NOT a Creation from god… or any Divine Being…. Let that sink in.

Why would I say something like that? a) it’s true af & b) no human reading this post is an actual, legit human. This is not the planet for humans. We’re not supposed to be here. I’m not fucking w you when I say that. So how are we here? The origin planet for Humans is called Tara. The lil Satanists have abducted humans from Tara and spliced their DNA with a whole bunch of shit. This current planet we are all on, called Earth 🌍, is a legitimate experimentation planet, a fucking zoo planet if you will. I will confirm to you all here and now all species of Big Foot exist & the reason why we don’t see them out walking 24/7 is bc they are designed to be subterranean. They were definitely spliced w human DNA just like us. Lmao guess what we’re all spliced w (not me n my dearly beloved Soulmate btw)…?