#and thus concludes my Cat Update.

[lannisterdaddyissues]

AHHHHHHHHH i had such a nice experience at quarantine again today!! the cats were happy to see us and we showered them with love :’) and i was able to corner one of the feral kittens and he let me pet him for a couple minutes which is progress!!

[sonnys-space-junk]

Final update as we prepare to leave for Turin:

Colin Sightings: 0

Helena Sightings: 0

Enrico Sightings: 0

Samantha Quick Phone Calls: 0

Cat Suit Nancy Sightings: 0

Margherita Sightings: 1

Messenger Pigeon Sightings: 1 (3 or 4 if you count each individual time the pigeon went past our table in my line of sight)

THUS CONCLUDES MAGGIE’S COLIN WATCH, THANK YOU

hello again, Clue Crew, this is Maggie here, speaking to you from Ca’ Fenice in Venice with an update on the Colin situation so far, i have seen no sign of him in the few hours i’ve been here. however, i have had the pleasure of seeing several Italian pigeons (none of them seem to have any secret messages tied to their legs or to have recently consumed any tracking device bombs)

i also saw a woman at a bus stop while on the way to the air bnb that i swear to fuck was either Margherita or her long lost twin sister, had the leathery skin and everything

[focsle]

Does the ship kitty in the latest Going to Weather update have a name? Do you have any history on ship cats like that fun lil buddy?

Her name is Scupper!

I tried to dig through my blog since I could’ve sworn I’ve reblogged like…masterposts about some notable ship’s cats but I couldn’t find anything. They existed tho! Here’s the wikipedia of some Famed Ships Cats across the maritime trades. Able seacat Simon is one of my favs. He received medals…

And since I must nod to whaling history, there were a few mentions of ships cats, but not very many that I’ve come across. Not because they didn’t exist, but that they were very much part of the expected landscape and thus not always mentioned. Sailors liked having cats around—they’re good for vermin control which every single whaleship absolutely contended with. In the Feb 9th 1864 issue of the Whaleman’s Shipping List, it ran a piece on why sailors wanted cats on board as well that sounds……..FAKE…..but I don’t feel like fact checking an 1860s article, so consider it a historical perspective in any case:

CATS AT SEA — Considering how much the cat abhors cold water, our readers must often have wondered why sea-faring men are so fond of taking the animal with them on a voyage. This is explained by two circumstances. Marine insurance does not cover damage done to cargo by the depredations of rats; but if the owner of the damaged goods can prove the ship was sent to sea unfurnished with a cat, he can recover damages from the shipmaster. Again, a ship found at sea with no living creature on board is considered a derelict and is forfeited to the Admiralty, the finders, or the Queen. It has often happened that, after a ship has been abandoned, some domestic animal—a dog, a canary-bird, or more frequently a cat, from its hatred to facing the waves—has saved the vessel from being condemned as a derelict

Cats were also considered good luck. In whaling journals I’ve read, the death of a ships’ cat was seen as a bad omen that would either plague the ship with ill luck, or, more specifically, would be responsible for violent storms kicking up (Scupper shall always be unharmed in this comic btw!).

This section of a painting of the whaler Ann Alexander shows some little creatures on board, a dog and a cat. I’m so sad I wasn’t able to find any photos of whalers with cats in the early 20th c. though!

[id in alt text]

They were also just good little companions. On the 1856 voyage on the whaleship Addison, whaling wife Mary Lawrence talked about her young daughter, also on board, being gifted a pet kitten from a captain of a French ship.

“Minnie brought home a dozen New Zealand apples, some fancy pictures, and a live kitty, which she has named Coda after her kitten she left at home.”

And of course…most important piece I’ve found about whalers’ cats that I’ve shared a few times before was in one of the final entries for an 1847 journal on the ship Ocmulgee. It was kept by a man named Joseph Dias, that for all his complaints about the work, was a career whaleman. He lamented the difficulty of the life and how it didn’t suit him, concluding with:

“And all that saved me was a cat. If it hadn’t been for her I don’t know how I should have come out.”

[shenlongshao]

GGS Redesign Analysis: Millia Rage

This is super long overdue, but welcome to another part of the GGStrive redesign analysis! Last time, I did Zato, which can be found here.  Now it’s time to do Millia Rage!^_^ MILLIA RAGE ------------------- “How is it possible she keeps getting prettier?!” and “She looks so gorgeous!” is what the majority of people said after seeing Millia’s reveal trailer. Since she has a few designs in the past, I’ll be talking about each one starting with her look in Guilty Gear: The Missing Link.

(Here’s a direct link to see it bigger https://i.imgur.com/dR9DBod.jpg) Millia’s initial design has a simple, yet unique and retro type style. The height and width of her collar conveys the traits of being mysterious, distant, and reserved. The short bubble sleeves of her form-fitting, white leotard displays a hint of her feminine and elegant side. Layered over the leotard is a sleeveless, short blue overalls dress with hip-high slits. On her arms is long, fingerless gloves with double metal plates. On her feet is ankle-length boots with blue frontal metal plating. Sometimes, she would try to conceal herself with a long, beige cloak when venturing in public. The primary aspect of her design is her blonde hair, which the majority of it is her Forbidden Beast called Angra. And lastly, there’s a thick, blue headband to compliment her look. Before the events of the 1st game, Millia was an orphan until being raised by the Assassin’s Guild and forcefully given Angra(it hasn’t be directly stated what she lost in exchange, but there’s some implications on what it might be). The style of her black gloves shows she’s combat ready while the style of her clothing tells of her valuing the aspect of able to move freely. Although the training and traits of an assassin has been instilled in her, the blue and white color scheme conveys how much she wanted to get away from that lifestyle. I think this design was good for its time, but I’m glad it was improved in Guilty Gear X. Next is what was her iconic look.

The concept of Millia’s original design has been kept and updated rather than a complete change. Her long, black fingerless gloves and her ankle-length boots is the same. However, one of the changes is she wears a black leotard underneath instead of white. There’s also the design of her high-collared, short-sleeved dress. It has two buckle straps within her bustline and at the helms along with blue trim. I notice how white is the dominant color this time instead of blue, so l’ll be gathering the color personality traits that fit Millia. Color Personality of White:  https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color-white.html Having a personality color white means you are neat and immaculate in your appearance, in the presentation of your home and in your car, almost to the point of being fanatical.  You are well-balanced, sensible, discreet and wise. With a personality color white, you are cautious, practical and careful with money. You think carefully before acting - you are definitely not prone to impulsive behavior. You tend to have a great deal of self control.

You are confident, poised and self-assured when at your most positive, but can also be very choosy and fastidious when the mood strikes. You can be very critical of yourself and others (in your need for perfection) - but you try to be fair and impartial as well. You are self-sufficient and a loner - you don't want or need help from anyone. However, you may also experience times of loneliness because of this trait. You may be wishing to create simplicity in your life - perhaps a wish to re-create your childhood, lost youth and happier times in your past life.

You can be quite sexually prudish with your need for self-control and perfection. You hide your flaws from others to give an impression of perfection. You may appear to be shy, but you do have strong beliefs about most things and love the opportunity to air those beliefs. The challenge for you is to be open-minded and flexible and to communicate your needs and desires. Color Personality of Blue: https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color-blue.html You are conservative, reliable and trustworthy - you are quite trusting of others although you are very wary in the beginning until you are sure of the other person. At the same time, you also have a deep need to be trusted. You are not impulsive or spontaneous - you always think before you speak and act and do everything at your own pace in your own time. You take time to process and share your feelings. You are genuine and sincere, and you take your responsibilities seriously. Having a personality color blue means you have a deep need for peace and harmony in your everyday life - you don't like having your feathers ruffled. You would benefit from daily meditation and quiet time for reflection, introspection and self-discovery. You appear to be confident and self-controlled, but may be hiding your vulnerable side. Being a personality color blue means you are generally fairly even-tempered, unless your emotions take over - then you can become either moody and over-emotional, or cool and indifferent.

You can be rigid - you like to stick to what is familiar to you and it is hard to sway you from your path - you stubbornly do things your way even if there is a better way. You need to have direction & order in your living and work spaces - untidiness and unpredictability overwhelm you. You don't like to draw attention to yourself - you prefer to be in the background. Color Personality of Black: https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-black.html You are independent, strong-willed and determined and like to be in control of yourself and situations. With black as your personality color, you may be too serious for your own good - bring some colour into your life to lighten you up - life should be fun. With a personality color black, you may be looking for protection from any negativity that surrounds you. You may wish to create an aura of mystery and intrigue, as in the sexy black negligee. You may be going through a stage of self-denial, not allowing pleasure and joy into your life. You hold things inside and are not good at sharing yourself with others, possibly out of fear. You are methodical in your work, making sure everything is completed as required, down to the last detail. You may have lost sight of your direction in life and are going through a very negative phase. These perfectly describe Millia and like the improvements to her design. Story-wise, Millia was still on the path of severing ties with her teacher/lover Zato and the Guild. But she wasn’t able to fully live peacefully due to Zato’s body got taken over by Eddie. The biggest change is how Zato got revived by the Conclave, which stirs the mixed feelings she has for him and forces her to deal with her feelings and what to do with her life; meaning a change in her design.

This is the first redesign of Millia’s look that really accentuates her feminine nature and hint of Russian heritage. The style of her hair is different with side-swept bangs and layers extending beyond her cheeks(without Angra, her hair grew to her shoulders). There’s still hints of her previous look with the style of the long-sleeved coat dress she wears. It now has the added detail of decorative button within the orange tie saying “Curiosity killed the cat”(she likes cats and chasing them). She still has the high collar and how there’s a single buckle with a loose strap wrapped around her lower shoulders. There’s two buttons near the black cuffs of her sleeves and helms of her coat dress. Her gloves are much shorter and this time, is white with orange trim. The black leggings and the white, ballerina-inspired shoes displays her elegant side. The Russian style hat has the labels Z1-28 and 13; Z for Zato and 1-28 referring to his birthday and 13 for the years they were together. The most interesting part of of her look is the main color is golden yellow. There’s also some hint of orange, so let’s see what it means for her. Color Personality of Yellow: https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color-yellow.html You analyze everything, all the time, and are methodical in your thinking. You have a strong independent streak in you, and are selective with your choice of friends, keeping a small group of close and like-minded friends rather than being involved in team events or large social gatherings. You communicate well on a mental level with like-minded people, but can become bitter and sharp-tongued if crossed. With a personality color yellow, you can be stubborn but dislike pettiness and spitefulness of all kinds. You like to think you are intelligent and well educated, with knowledge about many topics. You are a smart dresser and always dress to impress. Color Personality of Orange: https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color-orange.html You are friendly, good-natured and a generally agreeable person. You are tolerant and accepting of others just the way they are. You enjoy being physically active, particularly in the outdoors, whether it's simply going for a walk, or competing in high level sporting competitions. I love this design for her because of how well it shows her style and personality. My only complaint is it’s way too much yellow, XD. But Millia has went through a major character development with the realization there is some good moments during her time in the Guild, such as people she formed connections with(Zato, Slayer, and Venom). That instead of running from the Guild, she decides to return and vows to be the next leader to reform it. She concludes that a simple, normal life is not what’s meant to be. It’s really basically a poor excuse for her to keep appearing in future games, lol. Thus, it’s time for to have another redesign, which I’ll begin with her face.

The structure of Millia’s face looks softer with slightly rounder cheeks and smoother chin to emphasize her femininity. I notice how she’s given a distinctive nose shape rather than giving her a standard female nose. The tip is smoother and the bridge of her nose has a elongated curve. The most pronounced feature of her face is her eyes. Not only is it similar to style of the older GG games(like X2), but her eyelashes are thicker. It conveys of her being mature, elegant, and confident. Another thing I noticed about her eyes isn’t the same shade of blue like Ky’s in the previous games. Lighting does have a huge effect on how a color appears, so I did looked at Ky’s under the same lighting and stage; Ky’s is pure blue compared to Millia’s. Next is seeing the rest of her upper body.

(Link to see it bigger https://i.imgur.com/19919qD.png) There’s some things kept from her Xrd SIGN design like the button that says “Curiosity kills the cat”  and “Z1-28″ and “13″ on her hat. The material of her Russian hat is fur like a traditional one, once again wanting to highlight her nationality. The style of her clothes is drastically different with wearing a formal black blouse with orange trim and the details on her new, form-fitting dress coat. Below the bust area, the printed words on it says “Ivy Traditional”, which is mostly like the name of the clothing brand she’s wearing. There’s buttons from the front beginning from her stomach downward and buckle straps around the sleeves and the outer center on the upper part of the coat. Accenting the look is a orange scarf attached and wrapped around her shoulders. An interesting detail around one of her sleeves is the strap with the tag “P.W.A.B.”(I circled it in the picture). Considering what happened in Revelator(1 and 2), it must be relating to what Millia’s goal is and has a high position. Surprisingly, there’s no full picture of her yet so I’ll have to show a screenshot instead.

She also seems to have kept her black leggings, but have different shoes. Now she wears high boots with orange trim at the bottom. Millia’s primary color is French beige this time, so let’s look at the color personality.(I had to go to a different site) Color Personality for Beige: https://colorogy.com/beige-color-meaning.html You are modest about your achievements. You can keep secrets and confidences. Your understated and low key persona can fascinate and intrigue other people. You come across as enigmatic as you say little and leave a lot unsaid. You keep your cool even in difficult situations. People are drawn to your calmness and inherent tranquility. You have an indefinable quality that adds to your allure and this can mean you are always or frequently surrounded by admirers. You prefer to play by the rules and being ethical is one of your priorities. You are a true friend and a loyal partner in your relationships. When it comes to friendship, it is not a hectic social life and a long list of friends that you look for or want for yourself. You are happy and content with a small, trusted group of friends. Loyalty is something that comes naturally to you. You are loyal and expect the same in return. You have the ability to grasp new ideas and concepts quickly. You amass knowledge for wisdom and for knowledge’s sake. You are interested in everything that goes on in the world and in your areas of interest. You are much in tune with all that occurs in your immediate environment. You are responsible and dependable. You are introspective and enjoy discovering meaning to your beliefs and way of thinking. When you start something new your intention is always to take it to a logical conclusion. When you become interested in something you burn with ideas and energy to get what you want. You are protective about your loved ones. You are even protective about the welfare of perfect strangers. You may take up a cause that inspires you and quietly do your bit without mentioning it to anyone. Seeing someone else miserable or suffering in some way can cause you emotional distress and take the shine off your day. Refined and sophisticated define your personality perfectly. This reflects in every aspect of your life, your fashion sense, your lifestyle, your behavior and your choices. Even when you encounter difficult, irate or rude people, you may not retaliate, as you believe undignified behavior is below your dignity. You get content with the way your life is and resist major change. You enjoy being in your comfort zone and are reluctant to step out of it to face the unknown and have different kind of experiences. You think of and plan for tomorrow. You have goals and ambitions that you plan to achieve and have a concrete plan in place. The efforts you put in towards achieving all that you want in life are consistent. You don’t back down; come what may, when you really want something. With Millia taking on a high position role and how she wishes to make a positive change in the Guild, wanting to be with her allies, etc. The color beige definitely fits her, especially since it also describes traits she has since the beginning. There’s Venom, whom they used to not get along, but have learned to put the past behind them. Zato, her mentor and the one she loved, whom she still deeply cares for, etc. It’ll be interesting to see how her story unfolds and how she takes on this role. All of Millia’s designs have been great in their own way and love how her Strive design takes it a step further. She’s more beautiful than before(which I didn’t think was possible, lol), her professional and elegant style highlights her personality and growth as a person, and love her striking eyes. I’m really glad yellow isn’t her main color anymore because I felt it was too overpowering, especially with her hair being also yellow. Beige is a much better color and compliments very well. Rating: S + + +  (Gorgeous~!) 

[bates--boy]

I’m going to bring this tag on over to this shiny nu blaug.

Peter had been to the Karlstad Community Center before, so it was easy for him to drive to it despite his last visit taking place years before. He even remembered some of the classes he used to take here, to offset some of the stress that university studies brought to him. On the folded printout of the center’s class list, the young man had circled some courses that caught his eye, from the familiar hip-hop dance group (intermediate, because he was still pretty fucking boss at it), to tango, to another familiar old friend: parkour (which was a shock to see in the year of 2019), and, finally, sewing, a last resort in case the other, better classes were filled.

At the glass double doors, Peter pulled the printout out of his jacket pocket, unfolded it, and pushed his way inside. The receptionist at the wide oak counter looked up from his computer and swiveled his chair.

The automatic customer service smile on the receptionist’s face dropped. “Oh, god, it’s you.”

Peter stopped, blinking in surprise. “What?”

“Nothing!” The receptionist forced the smile back on his face. “Welcome to the Karlstad Community Center! What can I do for you, sir?”

“Uh...” Peter shook his head and approached the desk. He held the paper out to the other, along with his credit card. “I’m here to sign up for one of these classes. Mainly the hip-hop dance or the parkour.”

The receptionist, whose name tag read “Diwan”, glanced at the list and tutted. He shook his head and handed the paper back. “Sorry, can’t get you into any of these.”

“What? None of them?”

“None of them,” Diwan said. “Hip-hop’s full, tango’s full, sewing’s canceled since no one shows up anymore, and I don’t even know why parkour’s still on there. This site seriously needs an update.”

“Alright.” Peter took a pen from the cup on the desk and crossed out his choices. He skimmed down the rest. “Skateboarding?”

Diwan checked his computer. “Full.”

“Archery?”

“Full.”

“What about--”

Diwan held up a hand, his eyes still on the screen. “Let me stop you right there, Kirkland. Every class is full.” He scrolled down the screen and narrowed his eyes. “Wait, almost all of them.”

Peter leaned over the desk to see the screen for himself. “Well, what do you guys have available?”

“Please don’t lean on the counter.” Diwan waited for Peter to step back. “Thank you. You have three options here...”

­__

He followed Diwan through the corridor, until the two came to a stop at the glass wall with an inset double doors, an innovation that surprised Peter from the plain white walls and simple oak door he was used to. On the double-sided sign standing in front of the wall read: AERIAL SILKS.

It was this, knitting (which Peter predicted would meet the same fate as sewing and, thus, was a waste of time and resources to offer, in his humble opinion) and waltzing. And waltzing? No! Never again! It also helped that, when Diwan described to him what aerial silks entailed, it reminded Peter of those performances he saw as a child, when he was allowed visits to the circus.

Through the glass wall, it seemed that the class was just beginning, with students milling about, talking to each other or stretching on the floor and by the bar running along the mirrored walls. Peter followed Diwan inside, where the two walked over to a slim woman sporting a gray hoodie and holding a clipboard.

“Mei~!” Diwan sang out when they were close enough. “I have a new student here for you! Peter, this is Mei Ling Zhou, the aerial silks instructor. Mei, this is Peter.”

Mei Ling held out her hand. “Welcome! It’s so nice to have another new face here, and another male to boot! As you can see, we have a sort of shortage here. You’re just in time, too, for the new beginner class this season! Do you have your training gear with you?”

“Uhm...” Peter looked down, at the sweats and tee shirt hanging on his body. He tugged his shirt’s hem. “I’m wearing it…?”

Mei hummed. “The proper attire for aerial silks are leotards or form-fitting sportswear.” She then shrugged. “It’s alright, this is the first class, anyway, and all I do is explain and lead a demonstration with some of my more experienced dancers. You can have a seat and watch, get a feel for it. Oh, and I will need you to sign this.”

She flipped through the papers on her clipboard then turned the waiver over to Peter, who signed the paper and let the woman sit him down in a group by the wall, all the while falling into a steady daze; even as someone who was normally high-energy, trying to keep up with the instructor was a dizzying affair. He vaguely heard Diwan calling out a farewell, and when Peter blinked, he was gone, and a packet of photos and paragraphs was in his hands.

Maybe Peter just needed some coffee.

A few minutes later, Mei, sans hoodie, and two others stood in the center of the room, in front of a mat and a pair of black silks hanging from the ceiling, long as ropes. Mei clapped her hands.

“Welcome, welcome, everyone, to the Spring 2019 Aerial Silks class! I’m Zhou Mei Ling, but you can call me Mei; this is Sasha and this is Eduard, a couple of my Expert class graduates. We are excited to begin sharing this beautiful art form! But before we can let any of you on these--” she reached back to stroke the silks, “--we need to go over the fundamentals and demonstrate some of the moves for you. Now, if you all will please turn to your packets...”

__

This was just like a university lecture. Oh, god, it was just like a university lecture! Peter could respect that Miss Mei took this class so seriously – this was obviously a great passion for her – but if Peter had known that it would involve lesson plans as thick as an actual textbook, he wouldn’t have signed up. In fact, after a full thirty minutes of flipping pages and having to mark important notes, Peter planned on canceling it and maybe go for knitting; at least then, he’d be able to make a cute cat sweater for Jack.

“We’ll review these as we go on,” Mei had concluded the debriefing. “And now, some examples. Which, technically, constitutes as a free show. Eduard, music please?”

How is it a free show if we had to pay for it through classes? Peter wondered, watching Mei stretch as Eduard sauntered over to the table with the iPod speaker. A jazzy electronica beat bounced against the walls, Peter recognized it as Glitch Mob’s “A Dream Within a Dream.”

Sasha stepped away from the mat to give Mei some room. Mei took hold of the scarves and double-wrapped them around a lifted foot. Over the music, Mei explained, “We’ll start with five of the beginner footlock moves. This one is the figurehead.”

She bounced up and stiffened, arching her back and hanging her head. Peter quirked an eyebrow, watching the woman dangle and gently swing.

“Note that most of my tension is in my calf here, and my shoulders, where I have to balance and support my weight. Keep that in mind: whatever pose you use, you’ll need to use some quick thinking to know where to tense up in order to stay on the silk, else you’ll fall! And this--”

One more bounce, and a flip, and she was upside down, legs stretched front and back. Yet she did that so smoothly, like her body was water before it turned into a beautiful ice sculpture. Peter didn’t realize when he did, but he was soon leaning forward, mouth slightly gaped, eyes taking on that starry gaze.

“--is the overhead splits. I wouldn’t recommend this if you get motion sickness easily. For this one, the entire body has to be locked except for the foot locked in the silks, so the silk won’t tighten on your ankle when you get ready to switch positions and cause an injury. And this is the armpit figurehead!”

Every move performed for the class, and each one had Peter more captivated. Not only had Peter imagining himself on those silks, taking up the poses Mei pulled, but he also realized that this was pretty much like pole dancing; pole dancing’s more challenging cousin, sure, but shit, he’s can do this!

He can do it!

He’s going to do it!

The grin on Peter’s dazzled face stretched.

Hello, Peter’s shiny, new obsession!

[arr-jim-lad]

Jim’s research on natural stand users in JoJo parts 3-5

I was wondering if there were any natural stand users in part 5, which made me wonder if there were any in part 4, which made me question how many were natural in part 3.

I like statistics and I like research and I especially like useless knowledge, so I decided to try to figure out the answers to these questions.

Obviously, there’s the good boys Kakyoin, Polnareff and Avdol who have been confirmed as born stand users. also, there’s Iggy.

It’s practically confirmed that DIO used the arrows to create more stand users for himself, as Jotaro straight up mentions that. both Nijimura dad and Kira dad got arrows from DIO to get more people for him.

But assuming that all of his assassins were arrow-made is certainly false because there were a few that were more likely natural users, based on what we know about them.

N’Doul and Devo are definitely natural, since their stand abilities are relevant to their history before DIO. Anubis is another one that was around long before DIO.. but I’m not sure how to count Anubis since it's a stand, not a user.

I assume Gray Fly and Midler are natural, because Avdol knew of them, and it’s odd if he’d know about stand users that DIO made. Gray Fly especially is known for mass murders via plane and train crashes and I don’t think DIO would have much use from that, so Gray Fly probably acted on his own, meaning he had his own stand and was only later hired by Enya.

The D’Arbys were also stand users before DIO got his stand, since Daniel has souls he captured back in 1984 (DIO got a stand and arrows in 1986). There isn’t much proof for Terence, but since their stands are so similar and Terence was never afraid of Daniel, I assume both of them had stands. There’s definitely more solid proof for Daniel tho.

Since Polnareff’s sister died in 1984, which is before DIO awakened his own stand and started making more users, I assume that at least J. Geil already had a stand, but it’s also very possible that Enya did as well, since she seems very knowledgeable about them in general.

Lastly, I think Mannish Boy was probably a natural stand user? Unless DIO legit shot a baby with an arrow which like.... I wouldn’t put it past him, but at this point in time I think he has other things to deal with. Mannish Boy also has a very high intellect for his age, which could be the reason for him manifesting his own stand.

On to part 4.

Firstly, I assume Shizuka is natural. If she was shot by an arrow, it would have to be Akira or Keicho who did it, and I really doubt that any of them would shoot a baby. Like, they were bad people, but I don’t think they were THIS bad.

Aya and Tonio seem to be natural users as not only do they not come from Morioh, but there’s no mention of them ever being shot. Tonio especially makes it sound like it occurred naturally for him.

I assumed Shigechi was natural but the JoJo timeline says that he was shot by Keicho so I’ll believe that. There’s no actual mention of it, but he does say he got his stand in February that year, so the timeline fits.

Lastly, Kanedaichi’s stand apparently developed after he started to live in the  transmission tower and was not caused by an arrow. Yoshihiro hired him but he wasn’t the one to make him a stand user.

And I’m pretty sure that every single character in part 5 aside from Polnareff, Scolippi and the turtle is an arrow-made stand user, since getting a stand seems to be the only way to get into Passione. (Giorno is not a natural stand user since he has an inherited stand due to DIO being shot with an arrow)

In this research I am also assuming that Pet Shop is natural, because shooting rats and cats is one thing, but shooting a hawk, well, that’s hard, and probably not worth losing a stand arrow over just to see if it works. As for Coco Jumbo, I’m putting that one under ‘unconfirmed’, because I wouldn’t put it past Diavolo to stab a turtle.

Alright, so;

Out of the 33 stand users in Stardust Crusaders, we can make a case for 14 of them being natural.

There are 24 stand users in Diamond is Unbreakable, 4 of which can be confirmed as natural.

And there are 25 stand users in Vento Aureo, out of which only 1 is most likely natural.

So, based on my research, roughly 23% of stand users in parts 3-5 can be certified as natural. Everyone else got stand surgery.

Of course there could be, and most likely are, characters among DIO’s assassins that were natural born stand users, but since we didn’t get any background information on them, I can’t count them in.

And thus concludes my thesis on natural stand users in JoJo parts 3-5.

I spent, way too much time on this.

UPDATE: Part 2, now including Stone ocean

[thevividgreenmoss]

Obama occasionally denounced the ‘fat cats’ of Wall Street, but Wall Street contributed heavily to his campaign, and he entrusted his economic policy to it early in his tenure, bailing out banks and the insurance mega-company AIG with no quid pro quo. African-Americans had turned out in record numbers in 2008, demonstrating their love of an ostensible compatriot, but Obama ensured that he would be immune to the charge of loving blacks too much. Colour-blind to the suffering caused by mortgage foreclosures, he scolded African-Americans, using the neoliberal idiom of individual responsibility, for their moral failings as fathers, husbands and competitors in the global marketplace. Nor did he wish to be seen as soft on immigration; he deported millions of immigrants – Trump is struggling to reach Obama’s 2012 peak of 34,000 deportations a month. In his memoir, Dreams from My Father, he had eloquently sympathised with the marginalised and the powerless. In power, however, he seemed in thrall to Larry Summers and other members of the East Coast establishment, resembling not so much the permanently alienated outsider as the mixed-race child of imperialism, who, as Ashis Nandy diagnosed in The Intimate Enemy, replaces his early feeling for the weak with ‘an unending search for masculinity and status’. It isn’t surprising that this harbinger of hope and change anointed a foreign-policy hawk and Wall Street-friendly dynast as his heir apparent. His post-presidency moves – kite-surfing with Richard Branson on a private island, extravagantly remunerated speeches to Wall Street and bromance with George Clooney – have confirmed Obama as a case of mistaken identity. As David Remnick, his disappointed biographer, said recently, ‘I don’t think Obama was immune to lures of the new class of wealth. I think he’s very interested in Silicon Valley, stars and showbusiness, and sports, and the rest.’

Embodying neoliberal chic at its most seductive, Obama managed to restore the self-image of American elites in politics, business and the media that had been much battered during the last years of the Bush presidency. In the updated narrative of American exceptionalism, a black president was instructing the world in the ways of economic and social justice. Journalists in turn helped boost the fantastical promises and unexamined assumptions of universal improvement; some saw Coates himself as an icon of hope and change. A 2015 profile in New York magazine describes him at the Aspen Ideas Festival, along with Bill Kristol, Jeffrey Goldberg, assorted plutocrats and their private jets, during the ‘late Obama era’, when ‘progress was in the air’ and the ‘great question’ after the legalisation of gay marriage was: ‘would the half-century-long era of increasing prosperity and expanding human freedom prove to be an aberration or a new, permanent state?’ Coates is awkward among Aspen’s panjandrums. But he thinks it is too easy for him to say he’d be happier in Harlem. ‘Truthfully,’ he confesses, ‘I’m very happy to be here. It’s very nice.’ According to the profile-writer, ‘there is a radical chic crowd assembling around Coates’ – but then he is ‘a writer who radicalises the Establishment’.

For a self-aware and independent-minded writer like Coates, the danger is not so much seduction by power as a distortion of perspective caused by proximity to it. In his account of a party for African-American celebrities at the White House in the late Obama era, his usually majestic syntax withers into Vanity Fair puffs: ‘Women shivered in their cocktail dresses. Gentlemen chivalrously handed over their suit coats. Naomi Campbell strolled past the security pen in a sleeveless number.’ Since Clinton, the reflexive distrust of high office once shared by writers as different as Robert Lowell and Dwight Macdonald has slackened into defensiveness, even adoration, among the American literati. Coates proprietorially notes the ethnic, religious and racial variety of Obama’s staff. Everyone seems overwhelmed by a ‘feeling’, that ‘this particular black family, the Obamas, represented the best of black people, the ultimate credit to the race, incomparable in elegance and bearing.’ Not so incomparable if you remember Tina Brown’s description of another power couple, the Clintons, in the New Yorker in 1998: ‘Now see your president, tall and absurdly debonair, as he dances with a radiant blonde, his wife.’ ‘The man in a dinner jacket’, Brown wrote, possessed ‘more heat than any star in the room (or, for that matter, at the multiplex)’. After his visit, Joe Eszterhas, screenwriter of Showgirls and Basic Instinct, exulted over the Clinton White House’s diverse workforce: ‘full of young people, full of women, blacks, gays, Hispanics’. ‘Good Lord,’ he concluded in American Rhapsody, ‘we had taken the White House! America was ours.’

A political culture where progress in the air was measured by the president’s elegant bearing and penchant for diversity was ripe for demagoguery. The rising disaffection with a narcissistic and callous ruling class was signalled in different ways by the Tea Party, Occupy, Black Lives Matter and Bernie Sanders’s insurgent candidacy. The final blow to the Washington (and New York) consensus was delivered by Trump, who correctly read the growing resentment of elites – black or white, meritocratic or dynastic – who presumed to think the White House was theirs. Writing in Wiredmagazine a month before Trump’s election, Obama hailed the ‘quintessentially American compulsion to race for new frontiers and push the boundaries of what’s possible’. Over lunch at the White House, he assured Coates that Trump’s victory was impossible. Coates felt ‘the same’. He now says that ‘adherents and beneficiaries’ of white supremacy loathed and feared the black man in the White House – enough to make Trump ‘president, and thus put him in position to injure the world’. ‘Every white Trump voter is most certainly not a white supremacist,’ Coates writes in a bitter epilogue to We Were Eight Years in Power. ‘But every Trump voter felt it acceptable to hand the fate of the country over to one.’ This, again, is true in a banal way, but inadequate as an explanation: Trump also benefited from the disappointment of white voters who had voted, often twice, for Obama, and of black voters who failed to turn out for Hillary Clinton. Moreover, to blame a racist ‘whitelash’ for Trump is to exculpate the political, business and media luminaries Coates has lately found himself with, especially the journalists disgraced, if not dislodged, by their collaboration in a calamitous racist-imperialist venture to make America great again.

As early as 1935, W.E.B. Du Bois identified fear and loathing of minorities as a ‘public and psychological wage’ for many whites in American society. More brazenly than his predecessors, Trump linked the misfortunes of the ‘white working class’ to Chinese cheats, Mexican rapists and treacherous blacks. But racism, Du Bois knew, was not just an ugly or deep-rooted prejudice periodically mobilised by opportunistic politicians and defused by social liberalism: it was a widely legitimated way of ordering social and economic life, with skin colour only one way of creating degrading hierarchies. Convinced that the presumption of inequality and discrimination underpinned the making of the modern world, Du Bois placed his American experience of racial subjection in a broad international context. Remarkably, all the major black writers and activists of the Atlantic West, from C.L.R. James to Stuart Hall, followed him in this move from the local to the global. Transcending the parochial idioms of their national cultures, they analysed the way in which the processes of capital accumulation and racial domination had become inseparable early in the history of the modern world; the way race emerged as an ideologically flexible category for defining the dangerously lawless civilisational other – black Africans yesterday, Muslims and Hispanics today. The realisation that economic conditions and religion were as much markers of difference as skin colour made Nina Simone, Mohammed Ali and Malcolm X, among others, connect their own aspirations to decolonisation movements in India, Liberia, Ghana, Vietnam, South Africa and Palestine. Martin Luther King absorbed from Gandhi not only the tactic of non-violent protest but also a comprehensive critique of modern imperialism. ‘The Black revolution,’ he argued, much to the dismay of his white liberal supporters, ‘is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes.’

Compared to these internationalist thinkers, partisans of the second black president, who happen to be the most influential writers and journalists in the US, have provincialised their aspiration for a just society. They have neatly separated it from opposition to an imperial dispensation that incarcerates and deports millions of people each year – disproportionately people of colour – and routinely exercises its right to assault and despoil other countries and murder and torture their citizens. Perceptive about the structural violence of the new Jim Crow, Coates has little to say about its manifestation in the new world order. For all his searing corroboration of racial stigma in America, he has yet to make a connection as vital and powerful as the one that MLK detected in his disillusioned last days between the American devastation of Vietnam and ‘the evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of our society’. He has so far considered only one of what King identified as ‘the giant American triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism’ – the ‘inter-related flaws’ that turned American society into a ‘burning house’ for the blacks trying to integrate into it. And in Coates’s worldview even race, despite his formidable authority of personal witness, rarely transcends a rancorously polarised American politics of racial division, in which the world’s most powerful man appears to have been hounded for eight years by unreconstructed American racists. ‘My President Was Black’, a 17,000-word profile in the Atlantic, is remarkable for its missing interrogations of the black president for his killings by drones, despoilation of Libya, Yemen and Somalia, mass deportations, and cravenness before the titans of finance who ruined millions of black as well as white lives. Coates has been accused of mystifying race and of ‘essentialising’ whiteness. Nowhere, however, does his view of racial identity seem as static as in his critical tenderness for a black member of the 1 per cent.

[shadows-bitty-fun]

The day I was ‘adopted’

The story of how my first Lamia bitty came into my care! The Chain Bittybones are from @vex-bittys you can read more on them there! Also if you read this Vex, I hope you like it! ^^ (I’m nervous posting this)

WARNING: Mention of self-harm

It had been a normal day, spending it sewing articles of clothings that had been ordered by customers, sending off finished and approved pieces and feeding my cat who’d been meowing loudly for a snack that he usually didn’t get - his diet usually consisted of dry-food and some small bits of what I would eat, but once in a while I allowed him to have a small package of wet-food. Something he dearly enjoyed.

Finding a moment to take a break, I decided to go out to the small garden I had and tend to the few plants I had out here. I didn’t have many and the ones I had could for the most part take care of themselves, but they were important to me for various reasons.

I was just pulling out some weeds when I felt a strange sensation in my chest. What was this? I’d never experienced this before, but it wasn’t causing any alarm for me. It was almost like… A potential for something I didn’t really realize I wanted. But what?

My silent questions were answered when a skull peaked out of a bush near me and the feeling grew stronger. Who was this? I blinked at them, a questioning look on my face… At least I hoped so. I’d been told more than once that I had very little when it came to facial expressions - a side-effect of my autism.

The skeleton came out of the bush and my eyes widened. They were a lamia! I’d heard that these creatures lived around the area, even heard of a adoption center that was somewhere in the town, but I never guessed I’d be seeing one! My house was a bit off from everyone else so I could have my privacy, as I enjoy the natural ‘quiet’ that not living directly in a city gives off.

I slowly pull the work gloves off that rested over my more decorative ones that reach my elbows as I look the creature over. It’s clear they haven’t had a easy life; their long tail - black and orange with white patches - showed lines that I quickly concluded had to be scars from different things, they had a jacket on where some of the thread had given up thus leaving bits of the jacket open and even on their face was three thin lines in the bone: claw marks from something having attacked them.

That is when I noticed the glow. It was a dim, warm glow under the lamia’s jacket that almost seemed to pulse. And once I focused on it, I realized it was pulsing in synch with the feeling in my chest.

I looked at the lamia’s face when they shifted a bit before holding a hand over the glow, looking at me with a hopeful but slightly worried look.

“home?”

I was a bit surprised that he spoke as clear as he did, but I didn’t let that hinder me as I tilted my head a bit.

“Uh… Home? Are you lost or something?” I tried, not really sure what he - the voice was clearly male - was asking.

He shook his head slightly, his expression relaxing a bit more into a grin.

“no… home here? with you?”

Well, wasn’t that something else… Was he really asking what I thought he was? Because of my constantly worrying mind I needed to be clear if that really was what he wanted.

“Are you… Asking to have a home here? With me?” I asked softly.

The huge smile on his face as he nodded was just too cute. He was looking even more hopeful now. Oh dear…

“Well… I’m not sure how well you’ll find this place and… I’m not really sure why you’re asking me about this…”

The lamia frowned at that, looking thoughtful for a moment before looking towards my house. The door was open - my cat was a indoor one, so he was in my bedroom at the moment while I let in some fresh air - and from where the both of us were my computer was visible. I was updating a game I liked to play once in a while. Looking back to me, he gave me a questioning look and pointed to the computer.

All right, that was a question I could figure out without words and nodded, standing up as the two of us headed into the room. I noticed that while he wasn’t as tall as me when moving, he was clearly way longer than I was tall. I really wanted to learn more about him now.

It didn’t take long before he found what he was looking for: it was a page for a bitty adoption center - the one for lamia bitties that I remembered about when I saw him - and there was information on several different ones. Including one that looked a lot like the one next to me, just not with the white spots.

“So… You’re a Chain lamia, the feeling in my chest is a bond that wants to happen… And you’re asking me if I’m okay with it and if I’d let you into my home?” I need to have this all clear before saying anything else, looking to the Chain next to me.

He nods shyly and I can’t help but notice he’s looking at the image on the page. It’s on the Chain info page still, the image of a Chain holding over his chest where a similar glow is visible. At first, I don’t get what is up before my eyes land on his tail once more and he curls a bit more in on himself.

Oh.

I smile to him and move from the chair in front of the computer to the ground, sitting on my knees and holding out a hand towards his tail where the scars are.

“May I?” I gently ask him, watching his surprised face as he gently nods.

I’m not that good at reading faces, but once I reach out my hand to run it over one of the many scars on the lamia’s body I make sure to keep a look on his face. The texture of the scar is so different from the smooth feeling of the scales right next to it, but like this I can tell a lot more about it…

“These marks… Tell a story.” I’m speaking softly as I say so, eyes focused on the lines even as I feel his eyes on me. “They’re a constant reminder that things in life doesn’t go as we expect it… Things happen out of our control and they end up leaving marks on us. Some visible, like these, others not as much, but just as damaging to us… At least, if we allow them to be so.”

I look to his face now with a smile, pulling down the decorative glove on one of my arms and a soft gasp escapes the lamia who’d been watching closely. There rests a few scars of my own, different in size and texture than the lines on his body, but there none the less.

“Some scars comes from things happening that makes you feel… Well, hopeless. But you can always choose two ways: either let the scars remind you of how weak you were and are… or see them as a reminder that despite the hardships you’ve faced, you’re here now…” I can’t help the humorless chuckle that escapes me. “Not that it’s easy to do the second thing… I should know…” I move to cover the scars once more, but a hand over the bigger of my scars stops me.

The Chain has leaned in, his eyes running over the scars in focus. They look like weird pale dots on my skin, the texture more rough on these patches. Then again, I would be surprised if my frantic scratching until I bled had made clean scars. Especially with my inability to leave the scabs alone.

After a bit the lamia looks to me and smiles, his hand moving to cover over the scars as he speaks up.

“... strong.”

I can’t keep the tears back that show up in my eyes at that, a smile on my face as a bit after, my face is hidden in the shoulder of the Chain as we’re holding onto each other closely.

I’d worry later about getting my new housemate settled in, for now, it felt like this moment was needed.

[cardsvistas]

Seven Ways On How To Get The Most From This Sears Credit Card Phone Number | sears credit card phone number

The Sears abundance agenda was my aboriginal acclaim agenda ever. I got it in 1994 and accept had no issuers until recently. I don’t use it but already a year to accumulate it active. On Oct 23, 2019 accuse were answerable to my annual I didn’t apperceive until Oct 24, 2019 aback the artifice administration was texting me about a allegation I replied with the N for no. Again I got a buzz alarm allurement me if I answerable over 3,000 admirable in California I replied no. They said, “we are closing your annual and accepting you a new agenda to a new account.” I had no abstraction that any accuse were actually answerable to my card. Until I assuredly was able to get into my online annual and saw there were two accuse for over 3,500. This was ridiculous. They didn’t bolt this until the third attack in the aforementioned sears store.

Now aggregate is busted up cat-and-mouse on a new agenda and a new annual to be opened and the added one closed. They fabricated it assume like it was an accessible action actually not at all. I accept aback spent hours on the buzz with chump annual and the artifice administration of sears Citibank acclaim cards and accept been told annihilation that has actually happened the way they said. So this happened on 10/23/019 begin out on 10/24/19. On 10/26/19 I was aggravating to get into my annual with actually no luck. Spent 30 annual on the buzz with a babe from chump annual who told me that the accuse would be taken off my agenda aural 72 hours. I still couldn’t get into my annual so I kept aggravating with no luck.

I alleged aback to chump annual on 10/30/19 this was it for me. I spent over 3 hours of my activity accepting boilerplate and told altered advice every time. 45 annual with a babe who knew annihilation and should of put addition on the buzz with me who did. I afraid up on her accepting no area actuality told I couldn’t get into my annual until I accustomed the new agenda that was alone beatific out the day above-mentioned on 10/29/19 and it could booty 7-10 days. I alleged the artifice department. There I batten to addition who fabricated me feel alike worse. She was allurement me aback was your agenda stolen. I replied it wasn’t. I accept it appropriate actuality and she was adage things like she didn’t accept why the accuse were still on my annual and so on.

I concluded up accepting off with her calling aback to chump annual and requesting to allege to a supervisor. A nice guy gets on the buzz and says he has both my accounts accessible in advanced of him and told me I was bound out of my new annual for 24 hours because the babe above-mentioned had adapted my buzz number. Whatever, I had enough. He alleged to the artifice administration to see why the two accounts were still accessible and the accuse transferred to my new account. I concluded up actuality transferred to addition artifice being and told that this is the way it’s done. The absolute analysis takes up to 90 canicule and that one allegation had already been removed the aboriginal bulk but still cat-and-mouse on the added one to appear off. She told me that already the analysis is complete they amend the acclaim bureaus with the artifice annual and again accept the new annual on there.

So I assuredly got into my online annual bygone and afflicted my countersign but I can’t do annihilation abroad it’s bound for my protection. I can’t get into my annual I accept had aback 1994 but somehow addition was able to use my advice to allegation over 3,500 annual of stuff. I don’t understand. I’m the buyer of the annual and I can’t alike get into it. So now afterwards the alarm today I am closing my annual already this analysis is over. I’m done. I will booty the hit to my 850 acclaim annual for closing an account. I can’t accord with this anymore.

So I get my new card, I alarm the cardinal to actuate the card, it transfers to a being who asks me a agglomeration of questions that chronicle to my annual aegis questions things like that. I’m ok with it until he has to put me on authority and comes aback asks me some added questions and again tells me he can’t actuate my card. I will either accept a alarm or a letter answer what I allegation to do. I had to authority back. I’m so aggravated. So I accept a new account, a new agenda and I can’t use it.

I’m done with this. I’m closing this annual as anon as I can. I cannot accept that addition who doesn’t accept any of my advice except the acclaim agenda advice can allegation but I can’t alike actuate my new card. This agenda is horrible. Citibank has consistently been abhorrent and abounding years ago I had an affair with them so I bankrupt my annual and I should accept bankrupt this one already sears had to be taken over by Citibank. I achievement this helps anyone who is attempting to get acclaim with this bank. It is horrible. I can accept attention me and my new annual but this is ridiculous. I had every active accessible arrested on my annual and they didn’t alike bolt it until the third attack and now I’m the one adversity because of it. Don’t get a Citicard or Sears Citibank.

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[wallpaperpainting]

18 Things That You Never Expect On Simple Abstract Art | simple abstract art

I was attractive at an online angel of an abstruse painting alleged Accord by the backward American artisan Agnes Martin (1912 – 2004) aback my son lent over my accept to booty a look.

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“What’s it fabricated out of? he asked

“Gold leaf” I said.

“When was it painted?”

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“1963.”

“How big is it?”

“Over six-foot square. Isn’t it great!”

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“Probably bigger in the flesh” he said, and wandered off.

He was unimpressed, and I don’t accusation him.

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Friendship is the artefact of decades of balloon and absurdity that saw Agnes Martin go from allegorical painting to Rothko-like amphibian colour fields via the biomorphic surrealism of Joan Miró.

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Finally, in her mid-40s, which was in the backward ’50s, she begin a appearance of painting and a accountable – absolute animosity – that would sustain her for the blow of her life.

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[wirgins]

Golden Kamuy Question Box

Young Jump is accepting questions sent from fans for Noda Satoru to answer. They’ve been posting answers once a day on the official Golden Kamuy twitter. I’ve gathered and translated all the Q&As so far and will continuously update as new answers are posted.

All question numbers link to the original source. These usually contain screenshots pertaining to the manga scene in question and might be helpful in providing context to the questions.

Questions for Volumes 1 - 4

Q001. The greatest mystery in Golden Kamuy is the truth behind the missing gold. Has sensei already decided in his head what it is? Or is it only temporarily decided and something that might change depending on story developments?

Of course I’ve decided on it. If the story continues as planned, it’ll remain unchanged.

Q002. When did Sugimoto get the scars on his face? In the scene where he’s facing the battlefield in volume 4, he already has them…I really want to know!

I think it happened early in the war. The first division fought for 3 months at 203 Hill then went to Mukden in the winter. According to the clothes worn in the volume 4 flashback, they are heading to Mukden.

Q003. I’m currently enjoying the tankoubon releases. I work as a librarian and I’m always impressed with the abundance of references listed at the end of each volume. How do you search for and gather your literature and sources?

I learn from authentic Ainu sources. Even with famous fictional works featuring Ainu, professors will warn, “There are a lot of inaccurate details, so you must be careful”. Because of that, I try not to read creative works. I buy recommended materials and if those materials have references or works cited listed, I buy those too.

Q004. If Shiraishi were to grow his hair out, would it be straight or curly?

It would be lightly wavy.

Q005. Out of all the foods you ate for the sake of researching Golden Kamuy, which was the most delicious that you’d like to eat again?

Raw liver. It’s possible to catch hepatitis from it though, so I really shouldn’t eat it. Recently, hunter Kubo Toshiharu was on an NHK documentary where he cut out a deer’s liver and suddenly said, quite erotically, “You’re a delicious deer”, but I think the scene where the liver was eaten was cut. That kind of liver can only be eaten on the spot. If you’d like to eat it, then you’d have to become a hunter.

Q006. How does First Lt. Tsurumi protect his forehead while bathing? Does he use a bath bucket? Please explain.

I think that his brain isn’t really exposed. It’s covered with skin to some extent. But fluids leak when it’s rubbed or if he gets excited. He takes his head plate into the bath with him. The inside of it is probably caked with fluid. I wonder if he plays with it while it floats around.

Q007. I’m planning a trip to Hokkaido this summer. Can Noda sensei share with us a location that most strongly represents the time period Asirpa and Sugimoto lived? It doesn’t have to be a tourist spot. I want to experience the casual world of Golden Kamuy. Thank you.

The Historical Village of Hokkaido.

Q008. Is Kouhei or Youhei the oldest of the Nikaidou brothers?

Kouhei was born a bit earlier.

Q009. Are Shiraishi and Sugimoto’s socks that got mixed up in volume 1 still mixed up?

Even now they’re still mixed up.

Q010. Please tell me Tanigaki nispa’s chest measurement. I want to hug it and sleep on it.

It would be about the same as Jason Statham’s. [Note: Google says this is 48 inches.]

Q011. Is it true that you had sexual relations with Mr. Okuma Hakkou, your managing editor?

Where the hell did you hear a rumor like that? We didn’t.

Q012. I want to be a father like Nihei. I want to become a father who talks about boners properly. And I want to explain to my son the importance of boners. However my appearance and my voice are not rough enough. How can I become that kind of a brilliant man?

I too wished I could’ve been born a man as sexy as Murofushi Koji. But we have to work with the cards that life dealt us.

Q013. In volume 4, chapter 34, Hijikata goes to the bank to retrieve Izumi no Kami Kanesada [his sword], but why was it being kept at the Hokkaido bank? I’ve heard pretty often that it was sent to his brother-in-law in Hino during the Battle of Hakodate.

There are also theories that he had multiple Kanesada with small differences between them. 

Q014. What is the difference when Shiraishi’s name is spelled out in kanji versus when it’s spelled out in katakana?

There’s no particular reason. When there’s already a lot of katakana in a word bubble, I’ll spell Shiraishi out in kanji. It just depends on my mood at the time.

Q015. Since it seems like you collect a lot of research, have you ever ran into any fans while visiting places for research, such as museums, etc.?

Not at all. It’s because I gather everything in secret. I’m thankful to the many museum curators I’ve interviewed who’ve read my works. I received a letter from Kushiro City Museum before going there to conduct research. It also seems like the people at Abashiri Prison wanted to provide support since my previous work, “Supindarama!”.

Questions for Volumes 5 - 8

Q016. When did Sugimoto get that scarf he wears? Is his scarf still okay after it was cut apart by that yakuza boss?

He got it when he went to Otaru. Since there were many foreigners in Otaru, I think it’d be easy to obtain foreign-made goods. After his scarf got cut, he kept it in his pocket then he’d have to sew it up later, right? Like how Kenshiro [from Fist of the North Star] would have to sew up his red shirt every time it got torn, too. 

Q017. Shiraishi says [to Ienaga] that he’ll “keep her company, passionately and whole-heartedly”. Are there other women in the past that Shiraishi has kept company with?  

There are not. It’s because he spent such a long part of his adolescence in prison. He’s a man who’s only had sex with sex workers. He’s had some favorites among prostitutes, though.

Q018. Why did Ogata grow his hair out after being hospitalized and become the most devastatingly sexy private first-class?

Because he felt liberated.

Q019. Why are peaches Ushiyama’s favorite food? Is it because he also likes butts?

Yes.

Q020. Is the “Kano” part of Ienaga Kano her real name? Or is it a pseudonym?

It’s a fake name, her real name is Chikanobu.

Q021. Cosplay is one of my hobbies, and I thought this time I’d like to cosplay Kiroranke. But I’m having trouble understanding something about his hair. How in the world can you achieve that kind of a haircut?

His hair is cropped short to around the ear or the whorl of his head. I referenced this hairstyle from old photos of Karafuto Ainu men of that time period. 

Q022. Who shot Captain Wada? I’m so curious that I can’t sleep at night.

It was Tsukishima.

Q023. Why is Egodai not wearing any shoes on the volume 8 back cover illustration?

To foreshadow his death.

Q024. Does Edogai’s house not have a bath? Since Sgt. Tsukishima went to a public bathhouse, I’m guessing there’s no bathtub, but it’s hard to imagine Edogai also going to a public bathhouse. Back in those days, baths in residential homes didn’t seem to be popular yet, so this must be the case.

Edogai doesn’t have a bathtub. He’d be able to hide it with a towel, though, wouldn’t he? Yubari also had hot springs along with bathhouses. He’d go somewhere where there’s not a lot of people. A while back, I also went to bathhouses, but I’d go 30 minutes before closing. There weren’t any people around during that time. It’s not that I didn’t want people to see my dick, but it’s because seeing the dicks of random men I don’t even know makes me feel ill.

Q025. Please tell us the sex, age, and name of the cat with the center part fur pattern in Edogai’s house! I want to know more about that adorably ugly cat. Thank you.

He’s a male. Since he’s just a stray that wandered into Edogai’s house, his age is unknown. I think Edogai would’ve just called him “kitty”. When I was younger, we kept a cat at my parent’s house, and no one in our family could decide on a name, so we just called it “kitty”.

Q026. I have one question that’s been troubling me lately, it’s about my favorite, Sergeant Tsukishima, and I’d like to ask about it. Since I’ve learned that Tsukishima enjoys taking long baths, about how long are they? Maybe you could share with us any particular stories regarding Tsukishima’s long baths.

After leaving the 7th Division’s barracks in Asahikawa and mobilizing in Otaru with First Lieutenant Tsurumi’s group, bathing times were no longer tightly controlled, so it’s possible that Tsukishima just wound up taking longer baths as a result. It’s also possible that since Ogata doesn’t like soaking in hot water for a long time, that he finds the amount of time Tsukishima takes in the bath to be excessive.

Q027. Ogata’s hair grows so quickly. Why is this?

It’s because the author’s hair also grows fast. I don’t find the detail to be odd myself. Some things that seem ordinary to the author can seem strange to the readers, huh? In “Hana no Keiji”, Keiji scrubs his dick after he pees and I guess that’s just something normal to Hara sensei (the author).

Thus concludes all the questions so far! The official Twitter states their next Q&A Box will cover volumes 9 to the current issues.

[padmaaccessorieslimited]

NY Cardboard Box Boy Noelvin Case is Now Homicide Investigation, Video of Two Men Fleeing Burning Car | toofab.com

UPDATE 2:43PM 9/19/2019:

The case of the Florida boy found sleeping on a New York stranger's porch took yet another sinister turn on Thursday as police upgraded it to a homicide investigation.

Sharing several new updates at a press conference, Buffalo PD confirmed two people were killed and burned in the vehicle found one mile away from where three year-old Noelvin was found in a cardboard box on Monday morning.

They confirmed the car was the same one that was rented by Noelvin's missing parents, 24-year-old Nicole Merced Plaud and 31-year-old Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon, as well as 29-year-old family friend Dhamyl Mirella Roman-Audiffred, before they drove from Flordia to New York, for reasons still unknown.

But they still could not determine which of them — if any — were found inside.

Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo revealed two chilling security videos; the first showed a man walking towards the secluded industrial area at 2:54AM on Monday morning, exactly three minutes after the car arrived.

A second video at 3:01AM, exactly seven minutes later, shows two men fleeing the scene — one of them holding the child's hand as he ran beside him; the other holding gas canisters. A bright flash in the background marked the very moment the car burst aflame.

By the time police found it at 8AM that morning morning, car and its contents were completely incinerated.

Captain Rinaldo said that while they could determine there were two bodies inside, it could take up to four weeks to identify the victims. Thus, all three missing persons remain just that.

He also told the press conference that the two individuals seen fleeing the scene did not match the descriptions of any of the three missing; however he added that because the area was in complete darkness and the CCTV used infra-red, the ethnicity or clothing color of the "persons of interest" should not be concluded from the footage.

The police chief described the crime as "beyond disturbing."

"Clearly that little boy was inside of that vehicle, and there's two human beings that burned in that vehicle," he said. "This is a horrific, horrific crime."

But he added: "I guess we should be thankful that the little boy is alive and safe, it could have been another tragic outcome."

Original story below 1:15PM 9/19/2019:

The story of a Florida boy found sleeping on a New York stranger's porch just took another turn.

Zenaida Colon has been temporarily denied custody of her three-year-old grandson Noelvin, and must wait at least three more weeks before she can bring the child home.

Mystery still surrounds how the tot ended up sleeping in a box left out for stray cats on Monday morning. His parents — 24-year-old Nicole Merced Plaud and 31-year-old Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon — have been missing since Sunday night.

When woken, the boy could only tell the homeowner "the car was on fire"; police discovered a burnt out car one mile away with human remains inside, but so far have not been able to say for certain if the vehicle is linked to either the missing parents or the child.

After seeing her grandson's picture on Facebook, Zenaida immediately flew to Buffalo — but she wasn't initially allowed to see the youngster. The boy must now remain in Erie County Child Protective Services for at least three weeks while legal requirements are met for her to take custody.

Authorities must complete a background check, and must send an officer to review Zenaida's home to make sure it is suitable for the little boy. She must now await a custody hearing on October 9.

As the frantic grandmother waits for the red tape to untangle, she was allowed to visit her grandson for two hours on Wednesday — the first time she and his other grandparents were allowed see the boy since his ordeal began.

"He looked good, he looked happy," she tearfully told WKBW. "He recognized us, hugged us, kissed us. It was a good visit."

"My plea right now is to please help me get him home. I have people in my home now ready to accommodate them. So, my home is ready. it's been ready," she continued. "I'm thankful for Buffalo, New York for taking care of him for a few days, but I think it's time for us to head home."

A GoFundMe has been set up to assist the family's efforts to bring Noelvin home.

Got a story or a tip for us? Email TooFab editors at tips@toofab.com.

This content was originally published here.

[beesandwasps]

More Manga

So, at one time I was planning on making a bunch of posts about fan-translated manga, because a bunch of new series were showing up which looked promising. And then most of them turned out to be huge disappointments, or to get dropped by the translators, or to get cancelled by the authors. I’ve got some new titles, and I’m going to strike while the iron is hot. Please note that I make no guarantees that these titles will continue to be good, or even just continue.

Since this is going to be somewhat long, I’m putting the summaries below the fold.

レディローズは平民になりたい (Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai / “Lady Rose Wants to Become a Commoner”) [ link ]

In the past few years, there’s a whole genre of Japanese pop culture which might be summed up as “main character got reincarnated into a game world”, usually referred to as “isekai”. Most of these titles are about RPG worlds, but there’s a thriving subgenre of reincarnation into interactive romance/dating games. The ones which are getting translated tend to be more entertaining/well-written than the typical RPG setups, and this is no exception — after a traumatic life, the main character got reincarnated as the main character of a romance game titled “Nation’s Savior Lady Rose”… but she hates controlling men and the obligations of aristocratic life, and wants nothing more than to escape the game’s plot entirely. She manages to engineer her own exile and demotion to commoner status, but the plot isn’t letting her off so easily. I can’t resist posting a couple of pages (follow panels right-to-left):

ぶっカフェ! (Buccafé! / “Buddha Cafe”) [ link ]

A cute comic about a girl at college who gets a job as a waitress at a restaurant. She is so clumsy and airheaded that she has been fired from 108 previous jobs — and a third of those businesses closed because of her mistakes. The new job is at a café run by three young Buddhist priests, with Buddhism as the theme. It’s a good but very strange comic, comedy and romance and cooking and factoids about Buddhism all rolled up. (The translation hasn’t updated in a while; the translator has an account here on Tumblr which says they’ve been very busy lately.)

同居人はひざ、時々、頭のうえ。(Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. / “My Housemate is in My Lap, Sometimes, or On My Head”) [ link ]

This comic is about a young man who became a shut-in when his parents were killed in an accident, making a living as a serialized author. He comes across a stray cat and adopts it, and in the process of taking care of the cat he begins to reestablish connections to the world. The story is told in alternating chapters from his perspective, and from the cat’s perspective.

古見さんは、コミュ症です。(Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu / “Komi-san has a Communication Disorder”) [ link ]

This one is already pretty popular, so you may have seen it around Tumblr: from the outside, Komi Shouko (a pun on “communication disorder”) seems to be the ideal, if somewhat cold, high school girl. In reality, she is terrified to talk to people, and communicates almost exclusively by writing notes. The guy sitting next to her, Tadano Hitohito (a pun on “just some guy”), figures it out and undertakes to help her make friends with others… who are all, as it turns out, insane. Practically every character’s name is a pun describing who they are (or, in some cases, what real-world person they are a parody of) and roughly seven eighths of the characters are weirdos of some kind or another, which is hilarious.

川柳少女 (Senryuu Shoujo / “Senryuu Girl”) [ link ]

The reason I mentioned Komi-san wa Comyushou desu above, even though so many people already know about it (and thus don’t need an introduction) was so that I could describe this as “a positive version of Komi-san wa Comyushou desu”. The main character, Yukishiro Nanako, has no problem dealing with people — but she has trouble formulating her sentences unless she writes them as senryuu (think “casual haiku” and you won’t be too far off). She has a crush on a dimwitted-but-well-meaning former delinquent named Busujima Eiji, who has become a big fan of senryuu even if he isn’t any good at them. As usual, various other unusual characters appear, and wacky hijinks ensue.

さめない街の喫茶店 (Samenai Machi no Kissaten / “The Unwaking Town’s Coffeeshop”) [ link ]

In a town named Lutetia (nothing to do with the real-world Lutetia, which was an ancient name for what eventually became Paris) a woman named Suzume finds herself stranded, and works at a coffee shop. The city has a dreamlike quality — one of the shop’s customers is a giant cat, and there are witches living in the city — and Suzume thinks she’s just dreaming it all… Despite the odd setting, this is actually a quiet slice-of-life comic crossed with a cooking manga — most of the stories conclude with a recipe of some sort (or at least most of one — you’ll probably need to do some research online to fill in the blanks). It’s a very cozy story, even if there are ominous overtones now and again.

[mediabasedlife]

Game Review 07: Night in the Woods

Let me start this review by speaking very plainly. Night in the Woods is a beautiful, amazing masterpiece of a video game. It features a perfect blend of thrilling mystery, humorous banter and satire, and genuine, personal, down to earth commentary on real-world issues not often found in games these days. This includes mental disorders, politics, economics, all tied into a surprisingly compelling narrative, one I enjoyed immensely. It's barely March, and this game is, currently, my leading nomination for Game of the Year, at least so far as my interests are concerned. That being said, onto what this game is all about.

Night in the Woods puts players into the boots of one Mae Borowski, an anthropomorphic cat. However, Mae isn't the only protagonist, arguably. I found in my time with Night in the Woods that Possum Springs, the town where NITW takes place, was just as much the main character as she was, growing and developing itself right along with you. When all's said and done, though, you don't play as a town. You play as Mae, who is returning to Possum Springs, a small town in the Midwest, which she hasn't seen in years. Mae is fresh from dropping out of college, eager to get on with her life. She is a humorous, idealistic character with an excitable personality, and is a far deeper character than you may initially expect. Mae is joined on her story by friends both new and old, each of whom she meets and connects with as the game progresses. Players are first introduced to Gregg, a hyperactive, gruff, exuberant fox, who also happens to be Mae's best friend. From there, we meet Angus, a dapper, nerdy, and hopelessly kind bear who also happens to be Gregg's boyfriend, and Bea, Mae's longtime accomplice and former best friend, a down to earth and somewhat withdrawn...Alligator? Lizard? It's unclear.

Before continuing on with the topic of characters, it seems important to discuss the game's emphasis on Exploration. While never outright stated, Night in the Woods is a game that very much encourages extensive exploration. There is a lot of content to discover in the town of possum springs, ranging from conversations with villagers to small yet notable discoveries that elicit remarks from Mae. The game is largely a side-scroller, with players able to traverse the town by walking left or right across the screen, and plenty of buildings to enter along the way. Aside from just strolling across the screen and going into homes or businesses, however, Night in the Woods features light platforming, with Mae being as agile as she is commentative. You can run and jump on anything from mailboxes to telephone wires to house roofs as you wander about Possum Springs, with very little being out of reach or impassable. As the game goes on, more and more of the town opens up, offering new places to poke about in and new things to find. If you see it, you can probably jump on it or to it, and you probably should. This fact is aided by just how good moving around the game feels, from walking or running to the platforming segments as well.

Looping back to the subject of Characters, exploring offers more than just new things for Mae to remark on, or an opportunity to see just how much work went into creating Possum Springs. It also allows Mae, and you as the player, to discover characters normally hidden or out of reach. These characters usually have at least a few things to talk about, and a few of them go on to even become your new friends. These new friends can include Lori, an anxious mouse and horror movie enthusiast, and Germ, a bird who lives on the outskirts of town. As for the other NPCs you can find, I'll leave them to prospective players' explorative skills. Even if you end up missing someone, Night in the Woods is filled with people to hang out with, all with stories to be told or opinions to share.

Despite the innumerable conversations and quips that fill the world of Night in the Woods, the game is largely lacking in voicework. The most vocal character is Mae, and all you hear from her are the sounds of exertion as you hop about. Oh, and Sharkle, a desktop buddy who hangs out in the corner of your laptop screen, saying hello if you click on him. Though voiceless, Night in the Woods is hardly a silent experience. While characters might be mute, Possum Springs is not. Between the rustling of leaves, the guitar string twang of telephone wires, the hum of cars, and the bustling sounds of everyday life, Night in the Woods is an aural harmony worth taking in. Aside from this, Night in the Woods features a soundtrack that perfectly blends with the sounds of the city. The game's score is brilliant, featuring melodic electronica, synthesized rock instrumentals, and at times, even some smooth jazz. No matter the genre or style being played at a given time, every song that makes up Night in the Woods' soundtrack is worth listening to. Examples of this can be found at the game's Bandcamp page, in the form of a four-track album preview. Unfortunately, no full release has come out thus far.

Gameplay wise, Night in the Woods runs the gambit. You've got your side-scrolling, platforming exploration, but also a myriad of minigames to take part in. These range from Guitar Hero like rhythm sections, a potential knife fight, shoplifting, and even a fully playable, in-universe video game called Demontower. Demontower is a sort of Dungeon Crawling hack and slash, where you play as a sword-bearing adventurer carving their way through the eponymous, monster-filled Demontower. It isn't a complex experience by any means, but don't assume that means Demontower is easy. It features functional combat mechanics and a modest difficulty all its own, with varying enemies and challenging boss fights making up each floor of the tower. Despite its challenge, Demontower is entertaining, as are all of the other minigames you encounter. The long and short of it is; Night in the Woods is quite fun to play, no matter what you're doing in it.

So, Night in the woods has a fantastic narrative, believable and relatable characters, and enjoyable gameplay. But all of that is made all the better by the game's gorgeous visuals. Night in the Woods is a great looking game, with little details thrown in everywhere that make the game pop and the world come to life, like spots of graffiti on buildings, lovingly rendered NPCs that wander the streets of Possum Springs, and much more. Demontower, meanwhile, has a completely separate visual style, sporting retro, pixelated graphics that compliment the dungeon-crawling genre. Concerning visuals, I would be remiss not to talk about a game feature that accompanies you throughout the entirety of your journey. Mae comes equipped with a journal she uses to record her thoughts and lovingly sketch her discoveries or reminisce on humorous moments. Every piece of this journal is hand drawn by Mae, cataloging various points in the game's story and being expanded by near on every interaction you have in town. Flipping through these doodles at the end of the game was a genuine treat, and allowed for a certain level of nostalgia and laughs to be had before the credits rolled.

The best way to conclude this review would be to restate what I said as its opener; Night in the Woods is a beautiful, mysterious, masterpiece of a video game that few should pass up. It has a relatable cast of characters, a down to earth style of storytelling filled with humor, satire, and realism. It has a soundtrack that beautifully accentuates the game at every turn and a visual style that doesn't really ever fall flat. All of this compounds into a game that proves its worth and serves as an excellent debut for the development team, Infinite Fall. I really can't recommend the game enough, but if that's not enough to convince you, just look at the ratings the game has received across the net. A 10/10 on steam, for example. Night in the Woods is available on the PS4 and on computers via steam. UPDATE: Night in the Woods is now available on Xbox One, Mobile platforms, and the Nintendo Switch. 

[maiathebee]

Comprehensive Bibliography Of BTS

This is just a list of material referenced, alluded to or related to BTS’s concepts, music, photobooks, albums and music videos.  This is not a fan theory, or an attempt at one! Anyways here’s the precursor to my scholarly paper, lolllll (I’m not joking though).  I’ll update it as we goooooo....

Also, I know almost nothing about the School trilogy, but it’s my understanding that there’s not a lot of outside source material.  I could be wrong though.  Does it reference mangas and stuff??? send me a msg if you know.

(just a reminder that while BTS is remarkably involved in the creative direction of the group, the formation of a kpop groups’ era/concept is made by a large team of people, and therefore the members probably haven’t even considered or explored upwards of half the material on this list).

(asterisks mean that these works are not directly referenced by BTS in their interviews, lyrics or imagery, etc, but which are still tangentially related)

BTS book club list is as follows:

Shim Cheong - a Korean Panseori tale (Dark and Wild)

Demian by Hermann Hesse (Wings)

Seven Sermons to the Dead by Carl Jung (Wings)*

The Collected Works of CG Jung by Carl Jung (Wings)*

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by F. Nietzsche (Wings)

Beyond Good and Evil by F. Nietzsche (Wings)*

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K Le Guin  (YNWA) 

The Moral Philosopher and The Moral Life by William James  (YNWA)*

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (YNWA)*

Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob (YNWA)

Then here’s the film club list:

She and Her Cat (dir. Makoto Shinkai)(short film) (HYYH pt.2)(this is according to Bang PD)

Lost River (dir. Ryan Goslin) (Young Forever)

Big Fish (dir. Tim Burton) (reason here)  (YNWA)

The Helpers/No Vacancy (dir. Chris Stokes) (YNWA)* (tbh this seems fairly coincidental to me, which is why it gets an asterisk.

Snowpiercer (dir. Bong Joon Ho) (YNWA)

BTS music playlist:

Wild For The Night by A$AP rocky (Dark & Wild)

Friday Night Lights by J.Cole (Dark & Wild)

2001 by Dr. Dre (Dark & Wild)

花樣的年華 - Zhou Xuan (HYYH pt.1/pt.2)*

Nevermind - Nirvana (HYYH pt.2)

Wasted Youth (HYYH pt.2)

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (Young Forever)

Passacaglia in D minor (BuxWV 161) - Buxtehude (Wings)

You’ll Never Walk Alone - Louis Armstrong (YNWA)* (100% this isn’t a purposeful reference, but it’s a good song, y’all should listen to it)

BTS’s art history class bibliography:

Julius Caesar on Gold by Basquiat (Young Forever)

Tricycle by Basquiat and Warhol (Young Forever)*

Orange Sports Figure by Basquiat (Young Forever)

The Fall of the Rebel Angels - Bruegel the Elder (Wings)

The Landscape with the Fall of Icarus - Bruegel the Elder (Wings)

The Lament for Icarus - Draper (Wings)

La Pieta by Michelangelo (Wings)

Personnes by Christian Boltanski (YNWA)*

Further Analysis (and more fan-theory type stuff) in chronological order,  under this read more~~

I’m not sure there’s meant to be a single “correct” reading of the group’s narrative or story. Even in Wings, which drew its story fully from Demian, the ultimate narrative of the BST M/V is more vague.  While there might be a complete and overarching narrative that Bighit is trying to create with Bangtan’s concepts/mvs, I think it’s more likely that there are a lot of narrative threads running through the story, and some are maintained longterm, some are relevant only to as specific chapter, while others are merely aesthetic/cosmetic.  I have a feeling that even longterm narrative ideas are sometimes allowed to fade away for the benefit of moving the story forward at the pace they want. 

Dark and Wild

Shim Cheong is just a throwaway simile on hip hop lover.  I’m pretty sure it’s a reference to the idea that seeing Shim Cheong again allowed her blind father to gain the ability to see.

References like the one to Wild for the Night on hiphop lover (they also tweeted about the song back in 2013) don’t really do much except show that they genuinely like/listen to American rap and also it explains at least 66% of the dumb mistakes Rap Monster has made, probably, my poor problematic child.  Hip Hop lover references a ton of artists, but I just included the ones that are mentioned by more than just name.

The Most Beautiful Moment In Life (pt.1/pt.2)

Zhou Xuan is the first media reference point for HYYH (花樣年華)(It’s what the Chinese title for In the Mood For Love is based on). The lyrics refer to forgotten dreams.

Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love (花樣年華) is not listed, as RM mentioned in the interview that this was not associated with their album. 

Notes of a Desolate Man by Tianwen Shu is excerpted in a Taiwanese literary anthology by the name of  花樣年華, and I though think it relates thematically, it’s merely my own personal association~ There’s no indication that BTS or Bighit even knows it exists.  Tianwen Shu is greatly influenced by Lu Xun, who wrote the anti-confucian societal norms novel, A Madman’s Diary. 

Nirvana t-shirts are a go to for BTS’s stylists, probably MOSTLY because they fit their preferred grunge image, but the word “Nirvana” fits well into the ideas of tragedy/death, utopia/dystopia and idealism that BTS plays with, while Nirvana the band is obviously a good reference point for realistic portrayals of youth culture and music which speaks to young people, particularly the crazy popular Nevermind (ahem Yoongi’s intro song) with Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are.  (further fan theory here)

It’s crazy to me that Bang PD found inspiration in a five minute anime about a cat, but read the wiki summary and you’ll believe him:  “When it's over She cries and becomes depressed. Chobi does not understand what the conversation was about or what happened but concludes that it was not her fault. He stands by her and comforts her. Time goes on and it becomes winter. She continues going to work and moves on with her life. In the end Chobi and She are happy with their life together and say in unison, 'This world, I think we like it.’”

Fire (Young Forever)

Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” thematically deals with youth/nostalgia (Shine On You Crazy Diamond: "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun").  It includes critiques of the music industry and the cliches that the group had to deal with.  The narrative of Wish You Were Here is very much in line with Bangtan’s overall group narrative.

Lost River (a phrase you can see on a wall in the Fire M/V) is a film about a poor community, and specifically a mother and her two sons, going through crisis.  The film includes a scene of a party in an abandoned high school and ends with both a house and a car on fire. The film has an open ending which leaves room for an improved future, but the film is primarily about the limited possibilities and opportunities

As far as I can tell, the “Basquiat” paintings in the fire M/V are just imitations rather than references to specific paintings.  They’re probably being used just as an aesthetic choice - Basquiat’s art was a synthesis of street art, outsider art, social commentary and post-expressionism.  However, his life is also relevant narratively: he died young at 27 and he first gained fame as a graffiti artist.

I’m not putting it above because the film is super inappropriate, but the phrase “enter the void” is used in the Run M/V, and could refer to the Gaspar Noe film of the same name.  The title of that film is, in fact, a reference to The Tibetan Book of the Dead.  However, the term “void” (and the images of the void in the M/V) could just be a reference to five elements in Japanese Buddhism (including fire), particularly the Book of Five Rings.  But this is me getting uber fan theory, lol.

Another graffitied phrase in the Run M/V is “wasted youth.”  This could be one of three things; a reference to the hardcore punk band, Wasted Youth, an allusion to Fast Times at Ridgemont High which also includes a scene featuring “wasted youth” graffitied on a wall, or the phrase isn’t an allusion, but merely a description of the M/V concept.

Wings

The relationship to Demian needs its own post, so I won’t even go into it itself, but the tangential references it spawned are as follows:

The paintings in the Wings video are all in reference to Demian but are also all biblical/mythological in nature, based on the book of revelations, Ovid’s The Art of Love,  and the crucifixion.  The religious references, however, are dulled down -- Jesus is not fully sculpted, leaving him to be a vaguely carved form and allowing the image to stand more as an allegory for the relationship between mother and “son” in Demian.  (some further fan analysis of the art here)(and more specifically on the use of icarus).

The Passacaglia is also a piece which is referred to in Demian in the part of the book where the narrator begins to find spiritual fulfillment through music and art, something BTS talks about a lot.

Demian draws lot from Carl Jung, particularly his ideas about symbolism, archetypes and psychoanalysis.  The book specifically alludes to Jung’s Seven Sermons, and the idea that Abraxas is the ultimate being, uniting both god and the devil.  Thematically, through Demian, this deals with themes of forming ones’ own moral code, and ideas of will and strength of character, with good and evil being both at odds but also simultaneously part of everything. This theory/concept in largely influenced by Nietzsche, most especially his Beyond Good and Evil.  Together these are all philosophies which pull away from the ideas of societal norms or strict social structures and place a premium on personal/creative expression.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra (quoted in the Wings photobook and BST M/V) also furthers this idea that good and evil are “a wheel.”  It posits that Truth (not morality) is the highest virtue and that idealists flee from reality (SEE: Icarus).  The novel also introduces the idea of the overman, which is a gross idea and super problematic, but I can it being applied thematically to BTS as the idea of a ‘fully realized self.’  Zarathustra is a figure Nietzsche borrowed from Zoroastrianism.  (this writer has more ideas on some connections to Nietzsche).

You Never Walk Alone

“Omelas” and the theme of walking obviously references the Le Guin story, which is inspired by the William James essay, which in turn borrows ideas from Dostoyevsky.

Namjoon’s reference Snowpiercer plays into the video’s visual narrative (an inescapable cycle, the train, the cyclical nature of seasons, laundry is a cycle [2mjjk theory speaks to all these, lol]) as the story is about a train which circles the globe, in a world stuck in perpetual winter. Unlike the more environmentally-focused graphic novel, Snowpiercer the (korean-directed) film is intensely focused on class inequality, a theme which runs through BTS’s albums (see particularly Baepsae, but it’s a concern relevant to their School series, since most pressures put on students are related to social class) and which is of incredible concern to Korean people, and therefore is a common concern of a lot of Korean art.  Bong Joon Ho’s other film works are all very heavy on social commentary  (the host deals with the american military and politics/activism, sea fog also talks about social inequality... etc...), so referencing one of his films is a pretty clear statement that you are making a critical commentary on something.  Like the Le Guin short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, the film is about a dystopia in which the upper class/middle class/general public is reliant on the continual suffering of another (in this class the lower class or last train) to survive.  Trains provide a very easy metaphor for class given their class divisions into separate carriages.  This was also applied in another Korean blockbuster from the last year, Train to Busan (dir Yeon Sang-ho), which included some pretty transparent commentary on the negative effect that an apathetic, self-serving, lazy (male) middle-aged, middle-class could have on the survival of families and younger generations.

Most fan theories agree that the clothes in the M/V are a reference to the sewol ferry disaster.  Here is the fan explanation for how that connects to Boltanski’s Personnes.

[joeosheamipblog-blog]

Week 13

Having had time to practice illustrating the skeletal cat protagonist I’m very pleased with the aesthetic and have begun drawing preliminary character animations. Through reading ‘The Fundamentals of Animation’ I became aware of the animator Gerald Scarfe, who was responsible for Pink Floyd's another Brick in the Wall Video.

 ‘Animation can encompass the grotesque and literally depict metaphoric ideas. Here Scarfe’s teacher is a manic and cruel figure, viciously and apparently literally mincing his pupils. This is a vivid and literal bitterly critical visual metaphor for the ways which children are processed through the education system.’ (Wells p.30 2006)

 Scarfe’s literal approach to animation is particularly insightful. From updates which I have heard from Gus thus far, a lot of the content in the Blue Bossa song is describing a series of outlandish dream sequences and conversations, using Scarfe’s approach I’ve concluded it would be more effective to metaphorically depict these aspects of the lyrics through my animation. For example in one segment the lyrics talk of ʟausse the cat having a nightmare where he ‘descends into the abyss’ and has ‘ʜades as a host’ for this ɪ thought I could use the animation of the cat falling through the bottom of his bed and then being consumed by a fiery god-like figure. After ɢus had sent me the track ɪ dissected all of the lyrics and wrote out animations which will match the narrative content of the song, firming the aforementioned symbiosis of the audio visual content of the film.

 (Wells, P., 1961. (2006). The fundamentals of animation. Lausanne: AVA academia.)