#anyway next chapter our protagonists meet lol

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which neither Trevelyan nor Cullen wish to be in.

Canon divergent fic in which Josephine solves the matter of post-Wicked Hearts attention by inviting four noblewomen to compete for Cullen's affections. In this chapter, Trevelyan panics.

(Masterpost. Beginning. Previous entry. Next entry. Words: 2,751. Rating: all audiences.)

Chapter 2: Girls On Tour

Living in the house of Bann and Lady Trevelyan, receiving daily news of the next noble you were to be married off to, Trevelyan had quite mastered the skill of having a quiet panic attack whilst not spilling a drop of tea from her cup.

She even had a perfect smile plastered on her face, nodding politely as the other Ladies—Baroness Touledy and Lady Erridge—discussed and chatted and generally talked. Yet she remained silent.

Too occupied, was she, with her in-depth contemplation of the rug. This parlour Lady Montilyet had brought them to had such an excellent rug. So close to the fire, and not a single singe on it. Perhaps it would be swiftly replaced if so! Lady Montilyet certainly seemed efficient!

And this sofa, how comfortable. Trevelyan couldn’t quite find the right way to sit on it, but that was more due to the panic than any fault of the furniture. No, the furniture was trying its very, utmost best to make her feel comfortable.

Impossible task. A Templar? Really? Her mother really didn’t think that information would be at all pertinent?

Trevelyan lifted the cup to her lips. She did not drink.

Former, right? That’s what Lady Erridge had said. Not any more. And didn’t like the title, the Templar one. That was hope, surely.

No wonder the Baroness had called her a ‘curious choice’. Trevelyan herself was certainly curious about how the choice had been made. Lady Montilyet was efficient; there was no way she didn’t know. So, if she knew, then she must know something that Trevelyan didn’t know that would make it perfectly fine for her to be here. Yes. This was going to be… yes.

“Lady Trevelyan?” the Baroness said, the clink of her cup being returned to its saucer snapping Trevelyan back to the present. “Are you quite well?”

Lady Erridge leant closer. “You do look somewhat pale.”

“I am perfectly fine,” Trevelyan lied, “thank you. I was just contemplating… how old this room is. It looks… quite old.”

The other Ladies’ eyebrows creased momentarily, but the rules of society took over, and so they simply nodded through it.

“Lady Montilyet did tell me that Skyhold was ancient,” Lady Erridge said. “Though many different peoples have lived here, so it’s been difficult for them to parse the history. The bricks here could be Fereldan, or Orlesian, or even Elven!”

The Baroness smiled. “As they are still standing, I would not be opposed to calling them Orlesian.”

Trevelyan let out a little laugh that carried a tad too much of her nervousness with it. Though it seemed to pass Lady Erridge by, there was a quirk in the Baroness’ eyebrow.

She was fortunate, then, that there came a knock at the door.

Lady Erridge gasped, and set about tidying her already-tidy ringlets into perfect place. The Baroness made no such movement, and continued to sip at her tea. “Come in,” she called.

The door opened, and Lady Erridge’s straightened posture fell almost immediately. Lady Montilyet entered, and faced them all.

“Ladies, may I introduce the final of our cohort, Lady Giles Samient of Samient, daughter of Duke—”

They were apparently not the only ones who had heard that name enough, as Lady Samient of Samient, daughter of exactly whom you would expect, strode into the room.

Like her father, her skin was a soft-hued shade of brown, warm in its undertones. This was complimented by a bun of reddish-brown hair, which she pulled away, to fall in tresses around her face. Though her cheeks were rounded, they were not as disarming as Lady Erridge’s were. Sharp eyes and downturned lips gave her a natural look of seriousness. Yet, her gaze was not stinging enough to afford her any kind of ferocity. It was almost… clouded.

But it focused when she saw them. Samient stopped, and did something between a curtsy and a bow. The realisation of this mistake seemed to hit her immediately, but any shame faded away with the same speed, and she continued to her seat.

She had no skirts to shove aside; her outfit was practical and convenient. Black trousers, fitted well. A shirt, loose and comfortable. Neither matched the mud-stain on her boots, and so suggested an overcoat had been shed. And perhaps that she had ridden here on horseback?

Needless to say, her arrival fascinated them all.

“Lady Samient,” the Baroness led, “how wonderful to see you again. You look well.”

The Lady Samient stared down the Baroness for a moment, before her expression calmed once more. “Oh, Baroness Touledy. Val Misrenne?” Her Orlesian accent was not quite as pronounced as the Baroness’.

“That is home, yes.”

Lady Samient replied in a flurry of Orlesian, bewildering both Trevelyan and Lady Erridge beside her. However, it seemed to land, as the Baroness tipped her head back and laughed.

“I quite agree.”

This appeared to settle the Lady Samient greatly, as she shifted more comfortably into her seat. It only served to remind Trevelyan how comfortable she wasn’t.

“It is wonderful to see you are already enjoying one another’s company,” said Lady Montilyet, taking centre-stage of her diplomatic theatre. “This is, of course, Lady Trevelyan and Lady Erridge.”

Courteous nods were exchanged between them.

“Please, allow me to thank you all for coming to Skyhold,” she went on. “I know we are far from most established settlements, but I promise you, you shall not be able to tell. We have everything to suit your needs throughout your stay, and I hope you will come to think of Skyhold as a second home. Anyway, without further ado, there is the reason for your being here—”

“Oh!” Lady Erridge clapped, her curls bobbing with her. She attempted to exchange a grin with Lady Trevelyan, who, for personal reasons, could manage only a grimace.

“—which is, of course, the Commander,” Lady Montilyet continued. “He is quite busy today, but tomorrow, we shall be hosting a gala, at which you shall have a proper introduction. After that, I will schedule time for each of you to spend with him—so that we might accommodate his plentiful duties. I understand this situation is somewhat unconventional, but I do appreciate all of your willingness to participate.”

“Of course, Lady Montilyet,” said the Baroness, with a masterful smile. “We are quite fortunate in this arrangement, so a little patience and effort is to be expected. But the scenery is not so hard, and to see the workings of the Inquisition on its rise to power—a privilege indeed.”

Lady Erridge gasped. “Oh, the Inquisitor! Will we meet—?”

“I am afraid the Inquisitor has recently departed for the Western Approach,” Lady Montilyet explained. “A meeting would have been guaranteed otherwise—perhaps on return. Though I fear the trip will be of some duration; there is much to be done.”

“Oh, naturally. Though I am certainly disappointed. I do so love adventure stories.”

“I believe there will be plenty when the Inquisitor returns. I must ask for more of your patience, your Ladyship.”

Lady Samient stood; the conversation ended. “Are we to walk somewhere?” she asked, despite having just arrived from what was likely a long and taxing journey.

Ever the professional, Lady Montilyet donned a dutiful smile, and curtsied. “Of course. Ladies, if you would follow me, I shall give you a tour of the grounds, so that you might accustom yourselves with the keep. By the time we have finished, your rooms will no doubt be ready for your stay.”

Satisfied, Samient fell in line, as Montilyet opened the door. The Baroness and Lady Erridge followed, the latter with her usual little happy applause, presumably to congratulate herself on living such a pleasant and thrilling life.

Trevelyan, meanwhile, willed her ever-so-slightly shaking legs to work properly. Two feet on the floor, press down, move up. That’s it, that’s all. She followed the instructions to the letter—and she was stood. One foot, in front of the other. Walking.

Into the main hall of Skyhold they went. The place was chantry-like, with its high ceiling, stained glass tableaus, and lollygagging inhabitants doing very little of anything. The throne was a new concept, at least—though Trevelyan had known some Revered Mothers who certainly would’ve liked one.

None of it served to make her any more comfortable. If anything, it was a reminder. Had she a sovereign for every time her parents sent her to board at a Chantry establishment with Templars prowling about, she’d have two sovereigns. Not much, but enough to pay carriage fare away from here.

“Shall we visit the garden first?” suggested Lady Montilyet. Trevelyan gave no objection, and Lady Erridge certainly didn’t, applauding the very idea. A bit pre-emptively, perhaps.

Or not.

Venturing beyond the hall, the little garden that greeted them was, simply put, idyllic. It was bordered by ivy-covered arcades, criss-crossed by stepping-stone paths, and overgrown with shrubs and flowers of such beautiful variety. Though her Orlesian counterparts, well-used to the ostentatiousness of chateau grounds, seemed unmoved, Trevelyan was enchanted. Far prettier a garden than that of a Circle; far wilder in nature than that of her parents’.

Lady Montilyet gave her tour, shepherding them round the arcade. Trevelyan paid attention to very little of her speech, other than that the well was quite old, and the gazebo was nice, on an evening.

Her eyes fled to the garden view instead—and yet, on this occasion, found it obstructed. Lady Samient walked beside her, and with a subtle glance towards her, asked, “Lady Trevelyan?”

“Yes. Of Ostwick.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of your family, though you are the first I’ve met.”

“Oh. I hear we’re usually quite prolific, and everyone ends up encountering one of us, on some occasion.”

“And today, that is you.”

“I suppose it is. Very astute of you, your Ladyship. I hope I can do my family proud in giving you a good impression of our name.” Trevelyan put on a smile, the best she had mustered yet.

“Were you a mage?”

The bluntness of the question would have surprised Trevelyan, had Lady Samient’s speech not already been so unusually direct.

Still, she stumbled over her answer: “I… am yet a mage, your Ladyship.”

Samient seemed entirely unfazed. “Yes, yes. And what sort of magic did you do, at the Circle? Healing, fireballs, shapeshifting?”

“Oh, certainly not the latter—that’s the purview of hedge mages. I was more clerical, in my duties.” Trevelyan had prepared herself for this line of questioning, at least. “I did my primals, of course, but I largely spent my days working as an assistant, in the storehouses. Before everything fell apart, I had started teaching some of the apprentices. Glyphs and wards, simple spells, that sort of thing.”

Samient’s head tipped. “Do you miss it?”

“I miss... having something to do.”

“I can understand that. I suppose a Commander’s wife would have plenty to do.”

A lithe chuckle escaped Trevelyan’s lips. To herself, she muttered: “Knowing Templars… hardly.”

As they stepped from the arcade into the garden proper, a gasp from Lady Erridge brought the conversation to an end.

“How wonderful!” she sang, hurrying toward an eclectic collection of pots and beds containing varying species of plant life. “What is this?”

“The Inquisitor’s herb garden,” Lady Montilyet proudly informed her. “While travelling, the Inquisitor has collected seeds of almost every variety of apothecary herb native to southern Thedas, and brings them here, to plant. It is helpful to have our own supply.”

“Oh, certainly!”

“Indeed. Though the garden has yet more discoveries to offer. Come, let us wander. ”

True to her word, Lady Montilyet meandered away, with Lady Erridge at her heels. So too did Lady Samient drift off, and Trevelyan was left to examine the foliage herself. It was a fine collection, to be sure. One that endentured a small kind of jealousy in Trevelyan, for her own lack of garden space.

“What is this one called?”

Trevelyan looked up, to find Baroness Touledy poring over the plants as well. Her eyes caught the one the Baroness gestured to—a spiky, brown, twiggy-looking thing—and she said:

“Felandaris.”

“Ah.”

Her answer provided, the Baroness straightened, cane at the ready. But she did not move. Nor did she talk. She simply kept staring at Trevelyan.

And so Trevelyan joined her, knowing well enough that the question had been nothing more than an excuse, and this, now, was an invitation to the true conversation. She was proven right within an instant—for as soon as the Baroness had her in lockstep, she asked:

“What do you know of Templars, Lady Trevelyan?”

Trevelyan took a considered breath. She knew more than was polite to say, certainly. “Why do you ask?”

“Our mutual interest is a former Templar, and so I wish to be prepared for the sort of man he may be because of that.”

“Well,” Trevelyan began, not quite knowing where she was going, “they are…”

Her mind searched for the appropriate language. Preferably, she would give her description without swearing. A difficult task.

In light of this preoccupation, the Baroness guided their movement through the garden. She left a fair amount of distance between them and the forward party, and all by absolute purpose.

“Do not reserve yourself before me, Lady Trevelyan,” she said.

Trevelyan hesitated, but permission had been granted: “They are… strict. Uptight. Rigid in both posture and thinking.”

The latter comment elicited a smile from the Baroness. “Indeed?”

“Indeed.”

The Baroness nodded, and, making sure her voice was especially quiet, murmured: “You did not know the Commander was a Templar prior to your arrival, did you?”

Trevelyan near-froze, but keeping up appearances was always the imperative—as much as one could manage it. “I, ah…”

“I noted your surprise at Lady Erridge’s exclamation earlier. I wonder, do you know much of the Commander? Besides his potential rigidity, of course.”

“I have never met him, so there is little I can truly say I know of him.”

Though the answer was intentionally vague, Baroness Touledy’s expression exhibited a sense of definite understanding. Affirming the Ladies Erridge and Samient were quite occupied with whatever architectural quirk their guide was introducing them to, she began:

“Commander Cullen Rutherford, as I understand, was born in the village of Honnleath in south Ferelden. He became a Templar in his adolesence—later than they usually have them, so he must have shown some determination. He served at Kinloch, then Kirkwall—and saw rebellions at both during his time there.”

Trevelyan had heard of them.

“But,” the Baroness continued, “as was found at Halamshiral, he prefers not to speak of them.”

Trevelyan could imagine why.

“He much prefers to speak of his work with the Inquisition; I am told he regaled some of the Duke’s soldiers with quite the tale of the Inquisition’s stand at Haven—you know the events I am referring to?”

“Oh, yes. I know of them.”

“That is all the information I have of him, however.”

“I see.” Trevelyan looked to the Baroness, quite grateful. “Thank you, your Ladyship.”

“Well, it seems rather counter-intuitive of your parents to have sent you here to win a man’s heart with no knowledge of him,” she noted. “Though I am sure the Bann and Lady Trevelyan had only your best interests in mind..?”

Trevelyan felt her stare, and hid any reaction. It was bait she knew not to take. Baroness Touledy seemed perfectly kind, but she was yet the Lady of Val Misrenne, and a player of The Great Game by extension. Cards were better kept close to one’s chest. For now.

Lady Montilyet provided an escape: “Shall we tour elsewhere?” she announced. “We have an extensive library, which you are welcome to.”

Lady Erridge’s clapping heralded her agreement, and the other Ladies joined her in following Montilyet’s new path.

But as they returned for the oppressive internals of the keep, Trevelyan took one, last, lingering look over the garden, over the hold, and over the valley. It was beautiful. It was never-ending. It was—

Someone was staring back.

Her eyes snagged on a figure atop the battlements. They were dressed to be noticed, what with the large red furry cape slung over their shoulders, and polished armour beneath. But they did not seem to wish to be. For, when Trevelyan met their gaze, their head turned, and they hurried on their way.

Whoever they were, the disinterest was mutual.

[n1kolaiz]

The Six Realms

Okay, so I was pretty close to giving up on writing analyses but I'm back LMFAO plus I see we're close to 100 followers and I just want to thank you guys for being so very supportive <3

Alright, I'm not sure if anyone's ever written about this, but if an analysis like this exists, please do let me know because I'm kind of curious as to what other people think about this, too!

Remember that time Fukuchi spoke about bringing "about the five signs of an angel's death"?

I read a little bit more about it, and as a minor content warning: this analysis will focus on a few religious aspects (Buddhism + Hinduism). So if I get any of the facts wrong, firstly: I do not mean any disrespect to either religion, and secondly: please do correct me if I interpret anything in the wrong way.

Spoilers for BSD chapter 90 onwards + BEAST!AU under the cut!

So I'll start by talking about the Decay of Angels. As we all know, the members include Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Sigma, and Bram Stoker, and their leader, Fukuchi Ochi. After Fyodor's arrest, the Decay of Angels came into light with Nikolai murdering four government officials in a week. These murders symbolise the Buddhist cycle of existence, or otherwise known as samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

"We are the Decay of Angels—hiding here as terrorists, a 'murder association', five people who will announce the demise of the celestial world."

Nikolai Gogol, chapter 57

Samsara is described to be a concept beyond human understanding. According to Hinduism, samsara is the physical world where every being has its soul trapped into a physical vessel. The Hindus believe that everything has a soul, and due to a soul's attachment to desire, it is forced into a deathless cycle of being born, dying, and reincarnating into a different body. In Buddhism, the ultimate way to break free from this cycle is by obtaining nirvana.

Nirvana is a Sanskrit word for the goal of the Buddhist path: enlightenment or awakening. In Pali, the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts, the word is nibbana; in both languages it means "extinction" (like a lamp or flame) or "cessation." It refers to the extinction of greed, ill will, and delusion in the mind, the three poisons that perpetuate suffering. Nirvana is what the Buddha achieved on the night of his enlightenment: he became completely free from the three poisons. Everything he taught for the rest of his life was aimed at helping others to arrive at that same freedom.

- TRICYCLE'S definition of nirvana

As Fukuchi mentions in the panel above, there are six different realms of existence. These realms represent every possible state of existence, but one cannot live in a specific realm forever. Depending on whether or not one's past actions were morally good or bad, an individual is born into one of these realms. Basically, the controlling factor of which realm a person is born into is dependent on their respective karma. The realms are separated into two categories: the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.

The Deva Realm: where beings are rewarded for the good deeds they have done. This realm is void of anything unpleasant. It is basically paradise— empty of unfulfilled desires, any form of suffering, and fears of every kind. Religious individuals, however, do not seek to be born into this realm since its attitude is more or less carefree.

The Asura Realm: where demigods are admitted. Asuras are driven by greed and envy, and may come in conflict with human beings since they are quite similar. They are powerful beings, but quarrel with each other quite a bit, making this realm quite undesirable to be reborn into.

The Animal Realm: where beings are given the form of an animal (you probably guessed that lol). Individuals here don't actually have good karma to take pride in, but rather, they are born into this realm to work off their bad karma (by being slaughtered, hunted, or forced to work, etc). Being born into this realm forces one to atone for their past sins by living out their life as an animal.

The Hell Realm: where one is punished for their evil actions. The most merciless of realms, where one pays for their transgressions through pure suffering, methods of which include: dismemberment, starvation, and psychological/physical torture. However, once a person's term is fulfilled in this realm, they are presumably promised to be reborn into a higher state.

The Preta Realm: similar to the hell realm, in which beings pay for their past sins (specifically: greed and stinginess) by having to survive through hunger and thirst. This realm is also known as the 'ghost realm,' because some pretas are psychologically tortured by being forced to live in places their past selves have lived in. They are invisible to human beings living at that time, which pushes them to face the depths of despair and loneliness. Your typical horror movie, really.

The Human Realm: the only realm where one's actions determine their future. The status (social ranking, physical wellbeing, and so on) of a human being in this realm is determined by their past actions, but due to the fact that a person has their own conscience to differentiate good morals from bad, the actions they commit in this realm have the power to determine which realm they are sent to next.

Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, let's shift our focus to the Book. Very little is known about the Book, but the basic fundamentals of how it works is that whatever is written in the book will come into existence only if its contents follow the rules of karma. In addition to that, only a few sentences can be written into a single page of the Book, and it must follow the current narrative of the story.

If I'm not wrong, the first time the Book was mentioned was by Fitzgerald, who wanted it to resurrect his deceased daughter in hopes of restoring his wife's mental health. The next time the Book is brought up is when Fyodor's intentions to possess it are divulged; his goal was to decimate the global population of ability-users. And now, the current arc has the Book as its central focus, with a single page in Fukuchi's possession.

[ BEAST!AU spoilers ]

The Book acts as the central point of multiverses, with each character's lives differing from universe to universe.

Dazai committing suicide in this alternate universe stands in sharp contrast with how he decided to start up a new life in the main universe.

Oda staying alive to act as a mentor to Akutagawa in the ADA differs from how Oda uses his death to prompt Dazai to "be on the side that saves people."

And of course, the way Atsushi and Akutagawa have their positions switched in the two universes depicts how different their lives would be if they were given the chance to be mentored by different people— these are just a few examples of how the Book houses an endless amount of possibilities.

[ end of BEAST!AU spoilers ]

Hypothetically speaking, this kind of reminds me of the differing realms I mentioned before, where suffering is promised in some realms, and better things are granted in the rest, depending on one's karma, or the deeds they've done in their past lives. In this scenario, perhaps one's past life can be understood as one's current life in a different universe. That's just a personal opinion though. Take it as you will.

side note: Keep in mind that the person who is more or less impervious to the Book's effect is Dazai, with his nullification ability. I wouldn't want to propose any theories in this aspect (I don't believe I'm fully fact-checked ;_;), but I could use Dazai as a raw example of how your choices affect your future. If Dazai had decided to stay in the Port Mafia after Oda's death, or if he even decided to go through with his suicidal fixations, life would've been different for him in the root universe (obviously, ryley) I mean, you could basically understand that from how he ended up in the BEAST au, but imagine if he really did slip up in his decision-making in any of the universes.

Many analysts have proposed that he went MIA (early in his life) from the main universe for a while to figure out how the BEAST universe worked, whilst having the Book to his advantage. Perhaps his actions were guided? I'm not saying he's all-knowing, but he's sure as hell smart. I'm not sure if Kafka was trying to highlight the concept of karma when it comes to Dazai, but if he is, then I suppose you could say that Dazai is pretty much unaffected by the rules of karma, existing as the centerpiece of all the multiverses. No Longer Human is the namesake of his ability, but the book talks about disqualification from societal norms and generally, the world. I was talking about it with a friend, and they reminded me that Yozo (the main protagonist) was pretty strong in his views against society. Like he didn't speak out of total defeat, he spoke out of defense. If there was anything Dazai actually lost to, it was his guilt— "Living itself is a source of sin."

Then again, that's my personal interpretation since everyone has their unique perspective of his writings. In terms of the actual adaptation, you could translate the word 'disqualification' to 'insusceptibilty' when if it came to the Book's effects on Dazai? This side note is becoming really long lmao anyways I'll link a few theories which afflicted me with brainrot down below.

Another thing before I wrap up, the name 'Decay of Angels' stemmed from Yukio Mishima's book entitled 'The Decay of An Angel.' This is the final novel to the author's tetralogy: 'The Sea of Fertility.' The main protagonist, Honda, meets a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki, who takes the form of a young teenage boy named Tōru. The last novel of this series enhances Mishima's dominant themes of the series as a whole:

the decay of courtly tradition in Japan

the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics

Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era

Again, this could be referred to what Fukuchi goes on to say:

Some people view the concept of samsara optimistically, justifying it by saying that perhaps each individual is given a second (third, fourth, fifth, who knows) chance to refine their actions in order to be birthed into a better realm, with their karma being the independent variable.

On the other hand, other people, specifically the Hindus, view the cycle of existence as some sort of plague. To them, the flow of life and being forced to endure the suffering of mere existence in any form was somewhat frowned down upon. Some Hindus viewed samsara as a trap. Besides, having one's soul being limited to a physical body for the rest of eternity was not very appealing, especially since where they ended up at depended on the karmic value their past actions surmounted.

Even so, particular types of Buddhists don't seek nirvana, but instead, like the Hindus, they make an effort to be good people of society, building up their good deeds to increase the likelihood of being reborn into one of the better realms.

As mentioned before, the Deva Realm was the home of angels, the most carefree, gratified beings to exist. Fukuchi describes these angels as the people who don't get their hands dirty, the people who act as the puppeteers of society: politicians.

In terms of parallels, angels were the most fortunate and powerful, but they didn't have anyone ruling over them. A lack of supervision would lead to the abuse of power, which is what I believe Fukuchi was referring to. Deeming himself the Decay of Angels, he sought to prove himself as the 'sign of death that falls on the nation's greed.'

A few fun facts (okay, not really) about Yukio Mishima: he committed seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) on the day he held a speech to voice out his unpopular political beliefs to the public. Mishima deeply treasured traditions and opposed the modern mindset the nation was advancing forward to adapt eventually. In his last book, The Decay of an Angel, he spoke about the five signs which complete the death of an angel:

Here are the five greater signs: the once-immaculate robes are soiled, the flowers in the flowery crown fade and fall, sweat pours from the armpits, a fetid stench envelops the body, the angel is no longer happy in its proper place.

The Decay of an Angel, p.53

The reviews about this series I've read so far describe Mishima's works to be quite complex; his writings demanded a lot of time to deconstruct and understand. They were highly symbolic, and he was pretty obsessed with death and the 'spiritual barrenness of the modern world.' I think you could attach a few strings from here to the mindsets of the DOA members. Of course, this parallel is completely abstract, but I'll go on rambling anyway:

He should have armed them with the foreknowledge that would keep them from flinging themselves after their destinies, take away their wings, keep them from soaring, make them march in step with the crowd. The world does not approve of flying. Wings are dangerous weapons. They invite self-destruction before they can be used. If he had brought Isao to terms with the fools, then he could have pretended that he knew nothing of wings.

The Decay of an Angel, p.113

I suppose you could resonate Nikolai with that excerpt. As much as Fukuchi takes the lead in this whole murder association, I'd like to believe that each member of the DOA plays an equally interesting part in whatever movement they're trying to execute. Fyodor feels it is his god-sent purpose to cleanse the world of its sins, his motto being, "Let the hand of God guide you." Sigma doesn't know where he belongs, since his origination comes from a page in the Book, and is fueled by the desperation to find a reason to live. Bram holds one of the most powerful abilities which is counted to be one of the "Top Ten Calamities to Destroy the World."

What I mean to say is that the DOA members are incredibly powerful, and they're not your ordinary antagonists (or I'm just biased). It's not just overthrowing authorities, mass genocide, and world domination— you could say that each individual is trying to utilize their purposes to their fullest expenditures, and the way they're trying to assert their plan into action is a little more passive-aggressive (framing the Agency, having a convo with a suicidal dude in jail, etc). They're the gray area between evil and good. As they framed the good guys for their own crimes, they're trying to conquer the bad guys for exploiting the innocent as they please.

This post would definitely age well if all hell breaks loose in the current arc (as if it didn't) and Kafka doesn't give us a happy ending.

That's all I have to say for now I guess! Thank you for reading, and once again, if anyone else something they wanna share, feel free to do so <3

sources (tryna follow Q's example ^_^) :

the six realms

samsara

the decay of angels

beast!au

the book

the sea of fertility

yukio mishima

theory: dazai’s emotional/mental state in beast!au

q’s theory: dazai being the protector of the book

theory: beast!dazai and the book

[blueteller]

“Trash of the Count’s Family” Review Series: Chapter 2

Trash of the Count's Family Manhwa: Chapter 2

We start off with a couple of shots with a carriage driving through the city and – wait, are those horse tails CGI?? That looks... kinda awkward. First awkwardness rating, everyone! I'm giving that image a 2/5, haha!

Next we see our MC exiting the carriage. Nice face, man. Look at those eyes. It looks awesome, in my opinion. Cale enters a place called "The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry" and dismisses his (unnamed) servant, who looks shocked. Cale says he'll be staying there for a while.

Inside we see some customers chatting cheerfully. The moment Cale enters, however, the atmosphere changes. He ignores them, focusing on a pudgy man blond man. Cale informs us that he's the owner, who greets him with a pleasant smile. Cale introduces him to us a "wealthy bastard" named Billos.

Cale thinks to himself that Billos looks like a Piggy Bank. Haha, Cale, you're so cute. (BTW, in that image Billos' closed eyes are drawn properly, even though the author often skips that in such distance-shots later on. I just decided to mention it out of appreciation. Gotta enjoy the good things while they last, lol)

Cale puts several golden coins on the table (that's A LOT as we soon find out. Cale really enjoys throwing money around!) and says that he wants to stay on the third floor all day, ordering tea (specifically not bitter – Cale, why are you so cute?? 😂) and asking for a novel to read (makes sense, since we know he's a novel reader from the fact that he fell asleep reading "The Birth of a Hero"). Billos accepts theses requests, although he blushes as says that it's too much. Cale makes a VERY smug face and says that he has lots of money.

Kim Rok Soo's really enjoying his new role as a spoiled rich boy, it seems!

Cale sits near a window, looking out. We see he has a clear view of the city's entrance, and Cale tells us Choi Has is going to get chased away from the gate because of his lack of identification. Even without reading the book, it's starting to become clear to the audience that Cale remembers the contents of "The Birth of a Hero" extremely well.

Cale continues to tell us how Choi Han buried the dead villagers first instead of seeking information about the assassins. Thus, Cale considers him to be a very caring person. Then Cale proceeds to remember more details about the meeting between Choi Han and OG Cale.

OG Cale questioned Choi Han why should the Count care about some "usueless villagers" who died. Then he proclaimed the cup of alcohol in his hand to be more valueable than any of their lives. Choi Han darkly responded "Interesting..." and said he was curious whether he would change his mind or not, and asked if they should test it out. Then he proceeded to beat him up. The image of Choi Han grabbing OG Cale honestly looks really cool, very detailed and dynamic.

We switch back to Cale, who's nervously sweating while remembering that part of the novel. He starts to get chills and decides to stop thinking about it. Then he notices Choi Han in front of the gate, talking to the guards. Cale has a soft, compassionate – at least in my interpretation – look on his face as Choi Han is denied access. We can tell that despite Cale fearing Choi Han, he still cares for the original protagonist, and thinks of him as a good person who doesn't deserve the suffering he's going through.

Cale predicts how Choi Han is going to wait until nightfall, to secretly jump over the wall into the city. That would be when he would have met drunk OG Cale in the novel.

Cale leaves the empty cup behind and there's a shot of him walking, I gotta say I'm enjoying these walking images a lot for some reason; the way the author draws shoes and leg movement is just so pleasing to the eye.

Anyway, Cale tells Billos he would be back soon and not to clear his spot. After the door closes behind him, everybody in the place is shocked how he left without breaking anything. Cale deadpans as he could clearly hear them behind him. This scene is so funny.

Cale walks away while making plans for the future. In order to survive the upcoming wars on the continent, he needs to get stronger. But he doesn't want to get too strong, because that would become troublesome. Finally, we are given exposition on how he intends to do so.

We are shown an image of a silver shield with a pair of white wings, and Cale explains that he wants to gain Ancient Powers. The first on his list is a shield to protect himself – which is similar to a mage's mana shield. The distinction makes it clear to the audience that Ancient Powers and Magic are two different things, even though they appear similar.

Next we see the image of a very tasty-looking, steaming croissant. Cale looks at a bread display, and we finish off with his proclamation that today, he would be preparing to obtain the "Indestructible Shield". End chapter.

Honestly, this chapter feels very short, but that's probably because I was enjoying it so much. As you can probably tell, I really liked the art in this one. There was only one image which I noticed looked awkward, but it wasn't anything important. Cale continues to look amazing, and he's the main focus, so it's all good.

Very nice chapter.

Feel free to leave comments!

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[dongofthewolf]

Dancing in the Deepest Oceans- Chapter 3

Abby Anderson x Fem!Reader

Your first date with Abby doesn’t go quite as planned.

Warnings: mentions of blood and injury, swearing, angst, hurt/comfort, uhhh yea I did that

Here’s chapter three! It definitely took way longer than I expected to do since I really wanted to get a lot of those requests done, so I’m v sorry about that.

Also I kinda cheated and included someone’s request for a bath scene with Abby in this so shhhhh it’s fine I’m just lazy productive like that okay LOL. I hope you all enjoy (esp if you requested the scene) ! :)

Read the previous chapter here

You couldn’t believe this was actually happening. You felt like the protagonist in one of those cheesy rom-coms from back in the day; the ones where the girl suddenly stumbles into the arms of her true love and everyone sings a happy song, except this isn’t a movie and also it’s kind of the apocalypse or whatever. You didn’t care though, this was the closest thing to rom-com perfection you were getting and you couldn’t complain, because it was with her.

Though you had only known Abby for a few short days, something inside you couldn’t help but feel like you had known her your entire life. The intimacy of those few stolen glances, the slight brushes of your shoulders, the way your hand fit perfectly in hers; it all felt so natural. You just hoped she felt the same way. 

--

She should be here.

You glanced down at your watch again, it was 8:15. Maybe you had heard her wrong? No, she definitely said eight o clock. Your mind swarmed with possible excuses as to why she wasn’t here; perhaps she thought you were meeting at seven and now she was the one who thought you were standing her up, or maybe she thought you guys were meeting at your room and this was the fault of some kind of miscommunication, or maybe she simply forgot. You racked your brain for any possibilities as to why she wasn’t here, trying your best to neglect the most obvious reason out of denial or maybe fear.

The hallway was dark and quiet, the tile floor cold against your skin as you sat with your knees tucked tightly against your chest. Your back ached from leaning against the steel door, and you had become increasingly more embarrassed every time someone passed by. Their lingering gazes made you want to disappear into the earth beneath you. 

For at least an hour, you sat outside her door contemplating whether or not you should wait for her. Was this whole thing a mistake? Your heart began to sink at the frightening possibility that she had been toying with your feelings this whole time, that you were just a naive girl with a childish crush on this person you barely even knew. God, how could you have been so stupid? This is exactly why you never formed attachments; they always ended in heartbreak, disappointment, or both. As more time passed, the fear and sadness that occupied your thoughts slowly began to fade into frustration.

This was dumb. Why were you waiting around for her like some lost kitten? You scoffed at how pathetic you felt. Anger began to rise in your chest as you thought of all the things you’d say to her when you saw her—how you’d scold her for standing you up, dreaming up this gigantic speech about how if she wasn’t interested she should’ve just told you. Or maybe instead of yelling you would just never speak to her again. Give her the silent treatment for the rest of your life. That is what she wanted anyways, right? 

As you sat there arguing silently with yourself you heard a pair of heavy footsteps headed towards you. You craned your neck to try and see who or what was approaching you, but the hallway was too dark to get a clear view. Panic quickly replaced the anger that had been occupying your heart just seconds ago as you stood up from your uncomfortable position. You could hear the adrenaline pumping in your ears as you squint your eyes at the dark figure headed towards you. A sudden rush of relief fell over you when a familiar face appeared out of the shadows.

“Y/N.” Manny emerged from the darkness. His hair was slicked back into a bun and he wore a nervous expression on his face. The sole of his boots were caked with a thick layer of mud that left a trail of footprints in the hallways, and you pitied the poor soul who would have to clean it up.

“Where’s Abby?” There was a sharpness to your words. You knew you should've been a bit more conversational (Manny had done nothing to you after all), but after sitting on the floor for an hour, you didn’t feel like wasting time on bullshit small talk. If Abby was going to send Manny to get rid of you instead of doing it herself, then the last thing you cared about right now was seeming polite.

“Right, about that…” You raised your eyebrow, Manny’s expression was difficult to interpret and you could tell he was here to break some kind of news to you, but for some reason it felt like whatever bomb he was about to drop was far worse than what you had expected.

“Manny, what’s going on?” You took a small step towards him, searching his face for an answer.

“Isaac sent Abby and I on a supply run this morning. Nothing too difficult, just transporting a few things to another base but…” Manny looked down at his feet as he contemplated his next words “but we ran into a group of scars on our way back and we got separated.”

You suddenly felt a tinge of guilt for thinking all those things about Abby. “W-what do you mean you got separated? Where’s Abby now?” 

Manny’s eyes were fixed to the floor as he delivered the news, his thumbs twiddling together nervously. “I uh… well, I don’t know.” Manny noticed your face twist with anger at his answer and tried to diffuse some of it “But Isaac’s already sent out a group to find her. It’s going to be okay Y/N, Abby is one of Isaac’s top soldiers and you know he’ll do whatever he can to find her.”

You were speechless, but more than anything you were frustrated. Frustrated at yourself for thinking such horrible things about Abby—for having such little faith in her. You wanted to scream at your past self for being so ignorant. Tears began to well in your eyes and Manny’s words did little to comfort you.

“I should be out there.” You marched down the hallway determined to find Abby but Manny was quicker.

His hand grabbed your wrist and pulled you back “You can’t go out there Y/N, you’ll die. Abby’s smart, okay? She’ll find her way back.” 

You tried to resist his grip on your wrist even though you knew he was right. You weren’t a soldier nor did you have the proper training to leave the outpost alone. And while a large part of you knew it was stupid to try and leave, a much bigger part of you didn’t care. You had to find Abby; you were willing to do anything, even if that meant putting yourself in harm's way. 

“I don’t care, I have to go out there.” You managed to yank yourself free from his grip and booked it towards the door but Manny was quick and caught you. Wrapping his arms around your stomach and hoisting you over his shoulder Manny carried you into his and Abby’s room while you fought and cried like a little kid. 

“Fucking let go of me Manny!” Tears stained your cheeks as you sobbed into Manny’s shirt. 

When Manny finally set you down on his bed you were exhausted from crying; the only thing left in your heart now was an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. You weren’t even allowed to leave the outpost to look for Abby, and the only thing you could do was sit in this wretched room praying she didn’t get mauled by a clicker or hung by a Seraphite. 

Manny didn’t feel any better about this than you did, in fact it was his job as Abby’s partner to watch out for her and he failed. Now his best friend was missing and it’s all his fault. The guilt weighed heavily on Manny as he tried to comfort you while you wept silently into his pillow. Even though he couldn’t have possibly predicted the surprise attack, he still felt like this entire thing was his doing. He tried to plead with Isaac to let him go back out and search for Abby but he refused, so Manny figured keeping you safe was the least he could do. 

Hours later you got up from Manny’s bed to use the bathroom, and he was nowhere to be found. You figured he probably went to bother Isaac about Abby or something, he was persistent like that.

You splashed some cold water on your face before tipping your head under the faucet to help ease the dryness in your throat. When you brought your head back up you almost didn’t recognize the person staring back at you in the mirror. Your eyes were red and puffy and there were dark circles under your eyes like you haven’t slept in days. You looked like a mess. Your hair was wild and unruly but at least with that outfit you had spent way too long picking out, you still looked pretty cute. 

At least you were a hot mess.

The longer you stared at yourself in the mirror, the more unrecognizable your face became. And then for reasons you couldn’t explain, you started laughing. A hysterical laugh that echoed off the walls in the bathroom like a sick symphony fell unwillingly from your mouth, and you couldn’t stop. There was something so incredibly sardonic about the events of these past few hours, that your body just decided to break out into a breathless cackle. It was a twisted reaction to a terrifying situation but for some reason it wouldn’t go away. Your stomach began to ache and your throat was dry and sore again. It felt like this sickening nightmare would never end. 

You felt tears begin to well up again when you heard something that immediately shook you from your shocked state: the rattling of the doorknob.

Your heart swelled with hope as you ran towards the door, not concerned about waking up the people in the rooms next door with your loud footsteps. The door creaked open, flooding the dark room with a pale yellow light that blinded you, and from that light emerged a figure you knew all too well— one that you had become intimately familiar with.

Abby limped through the door, at first not even realizing you were standing right there. You were looming in the darkness like some kind of monster, and you tried to speak but nothing came out. The only thing that snapped you out of it was the sound of Abby’s voice, hoarse and hushed like she was speaking into the darkness rather than you. God, you almost forgot how much you loved the sound of her voice. 

“Y/N?” Abby wasn’t sure if she was imagining this. She thought maybe the expired pain meds had some hallucinatory side effects and you were just what she wanted to see the most. Abby’s doubts faded into nothing when you took a small step into the light. In that moment she knew that this was real—that you were real.

When your eyes finally adjusted to the harsh lights you saw her face and gasped. To say Abby was in rough shape would be putting it lightly. There were cuts and bruises all over her face and body, and her clothes were absolutely filthy, but you couldn’t be bothered with that right now. You ran into her arms to embrace her tightly and Abby winced at the contact. Quickly you pulled back out of fear you hurt her, but Abby’s arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you back in.

Abby let out a loud exhale and for a small moment the jabbing pains all over her body ceased to exist. The only thing occupying her mind was the warmth of your body—how she could feel your heart beating with how tightly she was holding you, and she could finally exhale.

When you pulled away, a flood of emotions suddenly began to flow through you, filling you to the brim until the only words you could manage to mutter out through choked sobs were “I thought you were-“

“I know. I’m sorry.” There was a somber expression on Abby’s face as she wiped the tears from your cheek with the pads of her thumbs. 

You sniffed, looking up at her, you cleared your throat before speaking “Jesus Abby, your face.“ you softly grabbed Abby’s chin, examining her injuries in the light. There were crimson slices all over her face, and she was beaten black and blue. A particularly deep cut on her forehead had been stitched carefully and there was a cotton bandage wrapped around her left forearm. The state of your distress now seemed like peanuts compared to Abby’s state.

Without thinking you hugged Abby again tightly, revelling in the comfort of her embrace. Abby’s eyes were closed when you wrapped your arms around her, her eyebrows were furrowed and you weren’t sure if she was about to cry or scream. Though you didn’t know much about Abby, you did know she was a soldier—a warrior who wasn’t disturbed easily. You had no idea what she had just been through, but whatever happened had shaken her up pretty good. 

“Here.” Bringing your arms up to the strap of her backpack, you helped her ease it off her shoulder. She let out a breath of relief as you lifted the weight from her back and placed it near the door. 

Looking at Abby now you finally realized how dirty she was. There was mud and grime all over her clothes and her braid was loose and unruly. 

“Hey, uh I’ll run a bath for you, just wait here.” Considering her state you figured a bath would be more relaxing than a shower. Besides, you needed to feel useful right now, and if that meant taking care of Abby for a bit? You didn’t mind at all.

Hesitantly, you made your way to the bathroom and laid out a small towel on the tile floor. Turning on the faucet, you placed the plug in the tub and made your way to Abby, guiding her to the edge of the tub. “Let me know if the water is too hot, okay?”

Abby nodded as she ran her hand under the running water, letting the warmth fall between her fingers. When the tub was full, you turned off the faucet and stood up, using Abby’s shoulders to help steady you as you started for the door but something stopped you. 

“Wait-“ You stopped, Abby’s hand was over the one you placed on your shoulder, securing it there so you wouldn’t leave. She looked at you with pleading eyes as she spoke “Can… can you stay?” Abby didn’t say anything more but you could tell by the look in her eyes she needed you here. 

“Sure. I’ll turn around and you can get undressed.” You turned to face the door, looking down at the tile floor as you traced the crevices with your finger. The only sound that could be heard was the droplets of water that fell from the faucet echoing against the walls and the soft rustling of Abby removing her clothes. Eventually you heard Abby lower herself into the tub, she let out a loud sigh as the tension in her muscles dissipated from the warm water.

“You can turn around now.” Abby’s voice was quiet when she finally spoke.

Slowly you turned around to see Abby sitting in the tub, her legs tucked against her chest as she hugged herself tightly. Her eyes were fixed on the floor of the tub while she rested her chin on her knee. It broke your heart when you saw her injuries in the light. There were deep purple bruises along her shoulder blades and scabbed over cuts along her arms and legs. You also saw scars, a lot of them. Some were old and faded, while others were new, probably sustained within the last couple of weeks.

The steam from the water floated up, fogging the mirrors and warming the room. You made your way to the edge of the tub with a small washcloth, dipping it into the water just slightly. “Here.”

Bringing your finger to Abby’s chin you lifted her eyes to face yours. Her features softened when you met her gaze and lightly you brought the washcloth to her face. Careful to avoid the stitches on her forehead, you rid the dirt from her face, dipping the cloth into the water every once in a while before bringing it back to her face.

Her freckles were more prominent in the light and her eyes stuck attentively studying your movements. When all the grime was gone, you couldn’t help but notice a whisper of a blush on Abby’s cheeks. 

“One hell of a first date, huh?” Abby spoke seriously but you could see a hint of a smirk on the edge of her mouth. A bit of her normal self was beginning to return.

Sitting up more straight now you gave her a small smile. “This is definitely the most interesting one I’ve ever been on.” 

You reached for her braid, undoing the elastic and separating the strands from each other while Abby spoke. “Oh so you’ve never bathed someone during a first date?”

“I can confidently say that this is my first.” Grabbing the small bar of soap from the dish in the corner, you dipped it into the water and lathered it between your fingers. 

The soap filled the air with the scent of pine and rain and you sighed at the smell. It filled your senses and reminded you of the first time you saw her. Not the time in the cafeteria but on that rainy day when you bumped into her for the first time. You inhaled deeply; it smelled like her.

Gently you began massaging the bubbles into Abby’s hair. Weaving the blonde locks through your fingers, and purposely taking longer than necessary. Watching closely as Abby’s muscles relaxed and her eyes fluttered closed from your touch. 

“Lean back.” Shielding her face from the water you grabbed a cup and poured the water over her head, letting the bubbles wash away from her scalp and into the water. “Is this okay?” 

Abby hummed in response and you took that as a yes. You repeated the process while you washed the soap from her hair, doing it a couple more times than needed because you knew it calmed her. 

The bathroom was quiet again, the only sound coming from the steady flow of water from the cup onto her head, and into the water. It was peaceful, and the both of you were content in this familiar silence. Appreciating each other’s company without the need to fill the air.

When you were done you sat up and laid out a towel for Abby, drying your hands on your shirt. “I’ll grab you some clean clothes, just give me a sec.” 

You left Abby to dry off while you searched for some clean clothes. Grabbing what you assumed was a clean shirt and a pair of sweatpants, you made your way back to the bathroom. Standing outside the door, you knocked lightly. “Can I come in?” 

Before you could wait for an answer, Abby opened the door a bit, hiding herself behind it. You handed Abby the clothes and she gave you an appreciative smile, it was small but genuine. “Thanks.” 

You sat beside the bathroom door waiting for Abby and trying not to think about the fact that she could’ve died out there. She was here and that’s all that mattered for now.

Your mind wandered as you picked at your sleeve, you noticed there were a few wet spots on your shirt from the edge of the tub. The cool air made you shiver and you regretted not bringing a sweater, even if this was supposed to be a night in. 

When Abby finally emerged from the bathroom you quickly stood up, unsure of what to do next. Her hair was still damp and spread across her shoulders; this was the first time you had ever seen her without that signature braid and you were in awe of how beautiful she looked. It was such a strange thought but it was the only thing occupying your mind. There was something so rare about seeing her like this that you couldn’t stop the flutter in your heart when it happened. 

Grabbing her hand, you led her to the bed on the opposite side of Manny’s and pulled the covers back so she could slip in. When she settled under the sheets you neatly tucked her in before standing up again. 

You didn’t know what to do now. Would it be rude to stay? Abby clearly needed the rest, but something in you desperately wanted to stay. You decided to let her sleep and started towards the door when you heard a small voice from beneath the covers. “Stay. Please.”

Abby’s voice was quiet and you could hear the exhaustion behind it. You looked at her with a smile and sat down on the bed next to her, pushing a strand of hair from her forehead before smoothing it down softly. She looked at you apologetically as you caressed her head, and  you gave her a look of reassurance even if you were scared out of your mind. Her eyes fluttered closed and her features softened from your touch. You stayed like this for a while, continuing even after her breathing had slowed and you knew she was asleep.

You stayed up watching her sleep; studying the way her mouth was slightly agape as she let out small breaths. She looked so peaceful.

A small teardrop escaped from your eye, and you quickly wiped it away. You knew this wasn’t going to be the last time she’d be like this; battered and bruised and fighting a war that seemed to never end. It hurt your heart to know that she was on this path of self-destruction, but what hurt most was knowing she’d likely never stop. 

You tried not to think about that right now. Eventually letting your attention fall onto the wet shirt that was still stuck to different parts of your body. Removing the item you walked over to the drawer where you had found the clothes for Abby and slipped on one of her t-shirts. It was devastatingly oversized on you but it was warm and smelled like her. 

You settled onto the space next to Abby’s bed, ignoring the ache in your back as you lay flat on the floor beneath you. Though the pain was worth enduring with the knowledge that Abby was here, and that’s all that mattered to you right now. 

While you lay on the floor you began thinking about how different things were just hours ago. It wasn’t long ago that you were practically dancing like an idiot in your mirror because you were going on a date with Abby. It’s strange how many emotions you had gone through in one day, you were almost positive you had broken some kind of record. You chuckled at yourself; surely no one was going to spontaneously break out into a song like in the movies, but you didn’t mind. This was enough— being here with Abby was enough. 

Eventually, exhaustion overtook your body and you quickly felt your eyes becoming heavier. The floor was beginning to feel a lot more comfier than when you had sat down and before you knew it, you had fallen into a deep slumber.

[colorofitall]

Welcome! This is an ongoing series of indefinite length on how Ludwig Göransson’s score for The Mandalorian ties nicely into John Williams’s history of leitmotifs in his Star Wars score. (And other cool stuff I notice.)

If you read through any analysis of John Williams’s score for any of the Star Wars movies, you’ll see lots of references of leitmotifs or themes. He loves to drop bits of music that represent people or themes into all parts of his scores. Other film composers do this too, but John Williams is a *master* at this.

So. We have a great main theme (which is Din Djarin’s theme). It runs at the credits. It’s really neat and it’s likely going to end up on every middle school band kid’s wish list of “Shit I Wish My Director Would Let Me Play Instead of John Phillips Sousa”. But the series doesn’t open with this theme; instead, we get a lot of random music instead.

Except…

Did you know that through the first half of Chapter One’s score, we get bits and pieces of Din Djarin’s theme; but we don’t hear the full theme until he’s up on the blurg, riding across the prairie like a cowboy? Neither did I. Until I listened to the score full blast while driving up to Rural Clinic™. The things one does to stay sane in a pandemic.

Full disclosure, if you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve seen the whole series. Spoilers abound. I’m too tired to hide stuff, so…

I’m using the episode score released onto Apple Music for this analysis, because, honestly, it’s hard to catch some of the musical notes with the rest of the action going on. I don’t have a copy of the written score, nor do I currently have a piano to transcribe this stuff myself, so I’m literally going off of my ears here. Be kind.

Okay. We open with “Hey Mando!” and that beloved bass recorder tune (Sidebar: so I knew there were bass and tenor flutes, but a bass recorder? WTH? But it makes sense if you want to have a recorder choir…) which is our first introduction to Din walking in to get his bounty. But instead of resolving into the rest of the theme as the music suggests, the theme cuts off and we get some bad ass fight music instead. Cool cool cool. We also get the very opening part of the theme (the two deep piano notes) at about 1:40, but I’m cutting Göransson a little slack here because that’s the title card theme music, and it has to show up. Again, it’s just a little piece of the theme, but not the whole shebang.

In the next piece of the score, “Face to Face” (which is where Din drops off his *numerous* bounties and meets Greef and the Client), we get to hear the bass recorder again, (at about 0:40) but this time, we get more of a variation on the main theme before it cuts off again.

Can I break here and mention what a fabulous use Göransson makes of bass instruments as a whole? I mean, that was an awesome use of the bassoon! Anyway…

Again, we get the deep bass piano opening notes from the main theme at the start of “Back for Beskar” which is Din returning to the Covert. It’s a nice match with the tone of the score here, and I’ve been wondering for a while if the deeper bass notes used for Mandalorians as a whole is a nod to Boba Fett’s original theme from Empire Strikes Back. You also get a little of foreboding bass recorder as well at 1:20. I’ll talk more about this piece and the next piece a little later because they showcase their own themes as well.

The next part of the score is “HammerTime”, which is when we get to see the Armorer work her magic. At about 0:45, the strings you hear at this point are playing that same awesome bass recorder line at the beginning of the “The Mandalorian” theme (just speeded up a bit). I also want to talk about all the hammering going on in this piece, and the blending in of the electric guitar which adds to the techno-vibe of the Mandalorians as well.

We finally get to “Blurg Attack”. Which makes sense for a title since they’re like sharks with feet. It starts out as a fun little attack piece but start listening at about 1:00 and you’ll softly hear the big brassy part of the main theme, but (I think) on French horn (or baritone).

Last but not least, “You Are a Mandalorian”. Does anyone else like Kuiil and how unimpressed he is with Din? We get the whole opening of the main theme right at the beginning of the piece, and just like at the beginning of the whole episode, the theme just drops out halfway with no resolution (lol Din gets bucked off, drop your heels dude and sit deep in your seat).

So throughout this episode, we’ve gotten little pieces of the theme throughout all of the action, showing all the separate parts of Din. There’s a part of Din that’s a bad ass bounty hunter, and a part of him that hangs out with not so nice people to get the work he needs, and a part of him that’s a super awesome beroya who’s invested in the foundlings of his tribe, and a part of him that’s still a scared little boy.

And as he rides out to find the fifty-year-old bounty who’s going to tie all these disparate parts of him together, finally we get to hear the whole theme.

Going through bit by bit: the violin parts from “HammerTime” (which echo the bass recorder from “Hey Mando” and “Face to Face”), the deep piano notes from “Back for Beskar”, and the brassy theme from “Blurg Attack”. Fun fact here is that those deep piano notes are also the lead-in notes for the main brassy theme.

And then the theme resolves finally. Load of stress off my back at least (Think of music resolving as that feeling you get when you know that a musical phrase is completed, and unresolved themes make me ITCH.)

I’m not covering Bounty Droid or The Asset here – I think they tie in better to later episodes and I will try to get to those later. Also for fun, listen to “The Mandalorian”. It’s the end credits theme and since it’s a little more sparse, it’s easier to hear all the parts come together.

And if you’ve read this long…

Two other fun things to note here. We get introduced to two other themes in this episode. One theme I think of as “The Forging” theme, and the other theme I think of as “The Mandos” (in order to keep it separate from our protagonist’s theme.) “The Mandos” first shows up at about 1:20 into “Back for Beskar” (Din returning with the first piece of beskar that becomes best paldron). The main theme you hear in this piece is the theme we will hear again during Din’s recollection of how he was brought to the Mandalorians; specifically, as he watched the Mandalorians kick the snot out of some Separatist droids.

“The Forging” theme starts at the beginning of “HammerTime”. (god some of these pieces have the BEST names). Recognize it? We’ll hear it again at the beginning of Din’s recollection of how he was brought to the Mandalorians; specifically, as his parents were running with him and placing him in the bunker. It’s important to note here that the theme starts *before* Din has a flashback to the Separatist raid. That’s why I think of it as “The Forging” and not “Din’s Trauma Extravaganza”. We can think of forging as a physical activity, i.e. “make or shape (a metal object) by heating it in a fire or furnace and beating or hammering it.” (Thanks OED!), but we can also think of a person being forged. And in my thoughts, the Separatist raid is part of what forges Din into the person he is during the series. So, it’s nice to have an explicit link between the Armorer’s forge and Din’s memories of his finding.

Enough analysis of the use of themes?

Enough. Bye bye!

 Side note: I did not realize the Blurrg were a thing in Star Wars: Rebels as well. Two-legged shark guys look just as weird when they’re drawn!

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

top 10 hellsing scenes?

All of them

Okay but seriously:

1. The entire fight sequence leading up to Anderson’s death

It’s animated so beautifully in the OVA and I fucking love all the many layers to it. The “vampires are weeping children” flashback that happens during it is one of my favorite moments. And just... everything this scene reveals about these characters, and the story itself. The fact that Alucard attempts to warn Anderson away from becoming like him, the implied grief that drove Anderson to this, the bittersweet element to his defeat. Also “my beloved nemesis” is like... yes.

2. Rio murder spree

I’ve talked about this at length before, but it showcases some amazing nonverbal storytelling. And the sudden shift in like... the narrative perception is so well done. Where before Alucard was our Cool Guy Protagonist and his fight sequences were meant to be fun, suddenly his bloodthirstiness is played straight for horror and I fucking love it.

3. Van Helsing flashback

So a) I love my boy Van Helsing, his one appearance in this series is def going to be a favorite, especially how he’s fucking reading Dracula for filth and b) it has SO MANY interesting implications. It opens up the door for so many questions, and is also one of our first glimpses at emotional depth in the series, especially in the OVA. It marks the first shift from cheesy murder romp to “in this house, we only have extremely tragic backstories.” Also both the manga and OVA have this scene directly after an Anderson scene and I lurve me that ✨symbolism✨

ALSO BLOOD TEARS GOOD

4. Pip’s monologue about London

Honestly all of Pip’s lines are solid gold, and he’s quite frankly too cool for this series. That being said, I looove how he brings to the forefront the sheer cost in human life. The series often employs a trick of gleefully using characters as cannon fodder, making it look cool, then turning around and actually contextualizing that and its cost. Sometimes it’s more successful (rio sequence), and sometimes it falls flat (the hellsing soldiers’ deaths following the Valentine brothers’ attack). Pip’s monologue is the most successful in the series imo. And I also very much enjoy his analysis of vampires during the land mine sequence.

5. The Major’s war speech

So, this is a pretty notorious scene in anime. It’s so fucking long. It’s so fucking self indulgent. It’s an entire chapter. And it has a fantastic slow build from vaguely silly, to annoying, to eventually chilling. There are some fantastic lines in this, and I absolutely adore the OVA dub’s translation of it. Hellsing in general is just really deft about narrative weight and when things have to matter, and the war speech by the end is fucking horrifying.

Also major props to Hirano for referencing a fucking twelfth century Bertran de Born poem.

6. Seras vs Zorin, and her power up moment after Pip’s death.

I actually wasn’t a huge fan of how this was handled in the OVA. Unpopular opinion but lol I fucking hate the random song that starts in the middle of it. But Seras’ power up is so damn good. And it’s so satisfying to see her fucking destroy Zorin. (RIP that expensive wallpaper tho)

Seras had been in a pretty weak position through the story, and when she did occasionally go into a blood rage it was often framed to be out of her control, and a thing she immediately shied away from afterwards. So her completing her arc, and embracing her powers, especially after how harrowing that entire fight sequence was, is so much fun.

7. Level Zero baybey

I’m counting the entirety of Alucard’s entrance in OVA 8 in this. The Demeter reference is SO GOOD, the melodrama of his return is SO GOOD. I love how horrified everyone is when Integra tells him to go nuclear. I love that they all just fucking start attacking, almost in a blind panic, because they do NOT want to see what’s coming next. The army of familiars is very cool (though the CGI is like lol) and I love that Hirano chose to bring back all the previous red shirt villains in fucked up, mindless zombie form. Alucard’s own Dracula get up is ridiculous and over the top and I love it.

8. When Integra’s cornered by Millennium; Iscariot entrance.

I love alllll Integra and Iscariot interactions. I love that she’s just cornered and alone and choses to get out of her fucking car and decapitate a nazi vampire, when there’s a ton more staring her down 😂😂 I love that Anderson & co were apparently just going to watch until they were like “Wait she’s OUR enemy, you don’t get to kill her???” Also slightly later but the LIGHT ME SCENE???

9. The museum scene

Enrico’s bitch ass entrance. Everything about his interactions with Integra. The fact that he crushes his own damn glasses because he’s that extra. That this is technically a friendly?? meeting?? but they both sic their attack dogs on each other anyway. Enrico being SUCH a bitch about giving Integra information.

10. MAAAAAAARS

[kuunowriting]

Akatsuki no Yona: A study on beginnings - Part 1

Hey, it’s Kuuma! This post is rather unusual since it’s not relating to my art/writing, but this is my blog so I’m going to post whatever I want (lol). I’ll try not to take up too much of your time. 

Anyway, let’s talk about Akatsuki no Yona. AnY (or Yona of the Dawn) is an on-going historical romance manga series by Mizuho Kusanagi. It’s one of my absolute top favorite mangas, and one of the reasons why I love it so much is its stellar writing. 

Let’s talk about how Kusanagi begins the series and why I think she did a good job setting up the series. I’m not a professional writer, so take this post with some salt. Additionally, spoilers... for the first chapter and some bits of foreshadowing to the rest of the series, wink wink. 

This will be split into a few parts because I just realized how much I have to say. I’ll be putting the rest of this very long post under the cut:

(Direct quotes of the manga will be from from Titania Scanalations’ translation: http://www.titaniascans.com/reader/Akatsuki+no+Yona/) 

The first few panels show our main character Yona in the mountains. It seems to be showing what happens later in the book and it seamlessly transitions back in time. 

With a few words, Kusanagi reveals the setting: “This is Kouka Kingdom... and what once was my castle, Hiryuu Castle.”

And in the next setting, she tells about our protagonist: “At the time, the Emperor did not have an heir to the throne, nor an empress to give birth to an heir. Just a 15 year old princess he raised with great care.”

Already the readers know the setting and the protagonist, Yona, which already fullfills the purpose of the first chapter; that is, exposition. With a simple few words, we already have an image, albeit small, of the protagonist--a 15 year old young princess who probably doesn’t know how to rule, if she’s not the heir. 

The next few pages establish and characterize Yona even further. She complains about her red hair and her looks to her father, the King. It’s solid characterization, that she’s bratty and only cares about her looks. Yona may not be likable here, but this dialogue quickly characterizes her. 

This transitions into the introduction to the deuteragonist, Hak who happens to be Yona’s childhood friend. Some banter tells that he’s got a bit of a sarcastic streak. Kusanagi drops a lot of information about Hak in a single statement from Yona’s father: “Besides, Hak is already the general commander of the castle at age 18. It’s only natural that he’s your bodyguard.” 

Back at it again with a smooth transition, Soo-won, Yona’s cousin three years her senior is introduced. By showing that Yona was worrying about her hair (and even wore “top of the line clothing... [and used] highest quality cosmetics and makeup” as stated a few pages later) before meeting her cousin, Kusanagi implies that there’s something more to their relationship than just family. 

There’s some talk about how Soo-won’s been by her side since they were children and Yona bumps into Soo-won. Yona’s shown to be shy and nervous around him while Soo-won treats her like a child. 

Kusanagi transitions to a flashback of a younger Yona and Soo-won, displaying their close relationship, characterizing Soo-won as extremely kind and even dropping some extra information, like how Yona’s mother is dead.

The rest of the chapter is similar, as Kusanagi weaves together so much information without using huge infodumps or slowing the plot down. It’s not super noticeable, in my opinion. So I’ll list off what else Kusanagi manages to achieve in a fluid manner. 

Yona shyly offers sweets to Soowon only to see that he’s not in his room (again, shows their relationship) which cleanly transitions to Hak and Soo-won hunting. Eventually, Yona wants to shoot with them but her father refuses because “I could never let you hold a weapon...” (some characterization about Yona’s father--he seems to be cowardly)

Soo-won calls over for Yona to ride on the horse. The King gets nervous (further showing his overprotectiveness/cowardliness). 

Yona gets on the horse anxiously (characterization of her shelteredness). There’s a funny exchange between her and Hak that’s a contrast to her relationship with Soo-won--she’s looser, less nervous, more sarcastic.

Yona gets on the horse next to Soo-won and gets even more nervous because of his close proximity. The cousins have an exchange about engagement when Yona accidentally blurts out that she’s engaged to Hak (which she wasn’t), which leads to extreme awkwardness. (just here for humor purposes, it seems, or to show that Yona loses control of her tongue around Soo-won)

Later, her father tells Yona that she might be engaged. She balks at the idea, saying she doesn’t want to be engaged to anyone but Soo-won. Her father counters by saying “Up until now I have given you everything you have desired...” (furthers her spoiled image) but that she cannot have Soo-won. (this is a plot thread that later gets expanded on)

Skipping the next page except for one tidbit of information (”Your mother was murdered by rebels”) Yona wonders about her own happiness (almost feels like foreshadowing). Suddenly Yona spots a mysterious figure that begins to chase her through the castle. Someone grabs her and pulls her into a room and she struggles. 

That someone turns out to be Soo-won. Soo-won comforts the terrified girl as Yona realizes the threats of being part of the royal family. Already some development, but only a tiny, tiny bit. Yona tries to confess to Soo-won, but he shuts her down. Soo-won does lift her spirits by telling her that “You suddenly look like a woman to me...” Yona smiles, concluding that she’s happy as long as he’s by her side, which furthers their relationship. (a cruel irony to what happens next)

It’s simply amazing how Kusanagi can reveal so much about a character, their relationships, and even drop in some plot threads and background information without having us blink. 

And that’s part 1! Part 2 will come out... sometime. i have no idea. Remember that I’m not super qualified since I’m only an amateur writer who loves this series and might have slipped some of my opinions in here. Constructive criticism is appreciated for this. Happy (almost New Year, and see you around!

[farmerlan]

Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 6

Vanity, thy name is Lan Wangji

SPOILERS AHEAD YOU KNOW IT

HAHAHA I feel like this episode is going to be really trying for me because there are so many scenes that TECHNICALLY happen in the novel, but not in this way. There’s a lot of crafty rewriting going on here that I’m going to try my best to reconcile with what’s going on in the novel. WARNING IT GETS REALLY LONG.

[We see the trio (Nie Huaisang, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng) enjoying some Tian Zi Xiao, a famous liquor produced within the region. Lan Wangji walks in at that moment and sees the debauchery going on. He demands they receive punishment but Wei Wuxian sets a talisman upon Lan Wangji to forcibly control him. Wei Wuxian then orders him to drink and we find out that he’s a super-lightweight. Wei Wuxian takes this chance to mess around with the usually stoic Lan Wangji. We learn that the Gusu Lan’s sect headband is sacred - no one can touch the headband except parents and significant others.

Wei Wuxian counters that no one on earth is going to marry into the Lan sect because they’re so stuffy HA. We learn a little about their backgrounds - Lan Wangji claims he does not have a mother, Wei Wuxian shares that he was orphaned at 4, and his only memory of his family is of them traveling with a donkey, laughing and having a good time.]

Differences from the novel:

Lan Wangji doesn’t interrupt the party - he interrupts the morning after. After a night of drunken shenanigans, Wei Wuxian & pals are all passed out in his room when Lan Wangji strides in the next morning. Next thing Wei Wuxian knows, he is being dragged by the collar into the ancestral hall for punishment. Lan Wangji doesn’t fall prey to any talisman tricks because...he’s too good for that obvi.

In the novel, we first learn that Lan Wangji is a one-shot wonder in Chapter 30, post-resurrection timeline, as part of the Yi City arc as they chase down the other body parts of the Demonic Left Arm’s corpse. He does not drink or become inebriated in Wei Wuxian’s first life. 

The actual backgrounds of both characters are correctly portrayed but this heart-to-heart conversation never happens at any point in the novel. In fact, with Lan Wangji’s general emotional constipation, many believed they were downright hostile to each other at times and I think even Wei Wuxian was unsure if Lan Wangji really returned his friendship prior to his death. 

We learn about Lan Wangji’s mother in more detail in one of the later episodes so I’ll talk about it then, but Wei Wuxian’s memory of his family was brought up in Chapter 66 of the novel. Specifically, he has a flashback as he is riding on Little Apple with Lan Wangji beside him, and then asks Lan Wangji to pick up the reins in order to re-enact the scene of his mother riding on a donkey led by his father from his memory. He then laments, “Guess we’re only missing a little one to complete the picture”. Obviously, Lan Wangji has no clue what he’s up to but he obliges and picks up the reins anyway.

Re: the headband, in the novel, it’s explained at the end of the Yi City arc, so there are no scenes with Lan Wangji’s ribbon in the Gusu Lan arc. Lan Wangji doesn’t actually explain in the drama what the headband signifies, besides that it is important (I forget whether the show explains this later on). But in the novel, we learn from Lan Sizhui in Chapter 45 that the headband is meant to signify self-restraint, and the only time when you’re allowed to be *ahem* uninhibited is in front of your significant other. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too late for that, especially since he explains this the day after the juniors witnessed a rather...shocking scene in the tavern (replaced by a more tame scene in Episode 40...so I’ll talk about that then because this is getting way too long.)

I’m just going to drop it right here that there is a flashback scene in the novel that is not in the drama. It’s right after Wei Wuxian learns about the meaning where he recounts that the first time he had touched Lan Wangji’s ribbon. In their youth, the Wen sect hosted a gathering/festival (idk what you want to call these...basically sects host get-togethers for other sects and these often last several days and can consist of many events, from banquets to hunts etc). It was during an archery competition event. Wei Wuxian initially tells Lan Wangji that his ribbon is crooked, causing Lan Wangji to feel for his headband to check, only to realize Wei Wuxian was teasing him. The next time, however, Wei Wuxian warns him that it really is coming loose but Lan Wangji ignores him as he figures Wei Wuxian is just being his grand ol’ joker self again. So Wei Wuxian reaches for it as he offers to fix it for Lan Wangji... and ends up accidentally ripping it off entirely. Lan Wangji is so upset he actually withdraws from the competition early (he still ends up placing fourth because he’s ~gifted~). Back to the present, Wei Wuxian reflects that it was a testament to Lan Wangji’s character and restraint that he didn’t immediately end Wei Wuxian’s life right there and then HA.

[The next day (let me stop here and just say the teaware in this show is to die for), we cut to Lan Qiren discussing similar happenings at the Nie sect, from where Lan Qiren has just returned. Lan Xichen deduces the water demon and snatched cultivator souls are connected.

We learn more about Wei Wuxian’s mom (Cang Se San Ren...CSSR because I can’t with how long the name is) but then our protagonists’ shenanigans are reported to Lan Qiren. Lan Qiren mets out punishment to the four of them, poor Lan Wangji included, and also accidentally reveals that he knew Wei Wuxian’s mom.

Cut to the Jiang sibs running into Lan Xichen and he tells them it’s going to take weeks to heal, and then points him to the cold springs. Wei Wuxian wants to learn more about CSSR - LOL Lan Xichen alludes to CSSR shaving Lan Qiren’s beard while she was here.

We get a scene with Wen Qing/Wen Ruohan - she seems to have discovered the Yin iron is in the water due to Wen Ning’s sudden change in appearance during the water demon hunt.]

Differences from the novel:

In the novel, Lan Qiren is called away to attend a conference the day after the pornography incident (so Wei Wuxian was NOT punished for that trick ha) and has no involvement in any of the events until the fight with Jin Zixuan.

The punishment scene was portrayed differently. Backstory is - the night before, Lan Wangji caught Wei Wuxian sneaking in alcohol again (he drew the short straw and had to buy it for his gang of do-no-gooders for the party). They fight again, but this time Wei Wuxian clings to Lan Wangji and tackles him off the border wall and onto the ground outside - which means Lan Wangji has now technically also broken the sect rules of being outside and re-entering past curfew. When Lan Wangji drags Wei Wuxian to the punishment hall the next morning, Wei Wuxian tries to pull a ‘gotcha’. He figured Lan Wangji would let him off since technically they both broke the rules and before you punish someone, you should apply the same rules to yourself. Cue Lan Wangji kneeling beside him and giving himself 50 more lashes than he gave to Wei Wuxian. Talk about holding yourself accountable.

There’s not really a lot of discussion of Lan Qiren and CSSR’s relationship in the novel - the author does state in an interview that CSSR AND Wei Wuxian both messed with Lan Qiren’s beloved facial hair, so like mother like son, but it wasn’t canon in the novel.

Jiang Cheng straight up carries Wei Wuxian out of the punishment hall on his back in the novel. Wei Wuxian’s being all finicky and “I didn’t ask you to carry me anyway” and Jiang Cheng replies, “Lan Wangji took 50 more lashings than you and walked out of there by himself! If I didn’t carry you out, god knows how long you would have laid there rolling around in the hall. I don’t think I could bear the shame! Also, stop playing victim then - get off my back and walk.” And Wei Wuxian immediately changes his tune and is all “But I caaaaaaan’t I’m so injured” LMAO.

Yes, Lan Xichen is still the biggest WangXian shipper and is indeed the person who points Wei Wuxian to the cold springs in the novel.

[Cold springs scene with Lan Wangji (they are both semi-naked in all versions besides this, also, who takes a dip FULLY CLOTHED, hello censorship) and Wei Wuxian declares his offer of friendship. Lan Wangji refuses, what else is new.

They both get sucked into a cave that is protected by ~magical guqin~ which forbids non-sect members from getting closer - oh, and there are rabbits wearing the Lan headband. Lan Wangji ties their wrists together with his sect ribbon and they are able to head up to the guqin together.

Lan Wangji plays the guqin to perform Inquiry (have I mentioned I cry tears of laughter whenever I see the guqin scenes I’m sorry bb it’s just really hilariously wrong…) Lan Yi shows up, we also see that everyone outside is looking for the two of them. Cue weird Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan scene as she slips and he catches her. The Jin Zixuan here is downright swoonworthy compared to the novel, I tell you.]

Differences from the novel:

The cold springs scene more or less follows the novel - the dialogue is somewhat different and there’s less physical contact (Lan Wangji in the novel straight up puts his hand on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder to stop him from moving around and splashing water everywhere). 

There is NO CAVE SCENE in the novel. The cold springs scene in the novel ends with Wei Wuxian’s offer of friendship being rejected, and he goes “You’re not giving me face at all, aren’t you afraid I’m going to take all your clothes when I leave if you keep rejecting me like this?” and Lan Wangji of course tells him to gtfo. So, no, we don’t get the symbolic ~tying together of their wrists~ scene in the novel and we do not meet Lan Yi in the novel.

There’s no Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan scene in the novel - I assume it was done for some more relationship building between the two characters in the drama since it would be kind of weird for the show to just throw them together into a romance and arranged marriage without building up to it.

There’s a whole other origin story to the rabbits running around Gusu Lan which I’ll cover in Episode 7.

[We learn that Lan Yi is a boss ass bitch who created the Chord Assassination technique and also appears to have a fondness for rabbits. Turns out she is NOT dead - just guarding the Yin metal until she dies. Cue origins of the Yin metal - it was owned by Xue Chonghai and he was the original demonic cultivator, using people as sacrifice and controlling the Tortoise of Slaughter. He was brought down by the sects and Yiling became known as the Yiling Burial Mounds. The Yin metal was then shattered to be suppressed by the five sects, and kept a secret.

Lan Yi, in an attempt to revitalize the Lan sect, went after the Yin metal despite the warnings of her bff Bao Shan San Ren (Wei Wuxian’s grandmaster). The Yin metal cannot be resealed, so Lan Yi was forced to seal herself in with it.]

Differences from the novel:

Nope, none of this happened. Xue Chonghai is not a character in the novel at all. There’s no Yin metal, but Wei Wuxian DID come up with the Yin Hu Fu (the Yin Tiger Seal) as a weapon. We learn more about its backstory in Chapter 30, however, the novel only states that it was crafted by Wei Wuxian from a mysterious piece of metal he harvested from a monster. The power of the seal therefore really comes from the knowledge that Wei Wuxian possessed to make it - many after him had tried and failed to replicate his success following his death. In the novel, Wei Wuxian is the originator of demonic cultivation (or at least the first person to master it to such a fearsome degree), and he never controlled or sacrificed live people - only corpses.

In the novel, Lan Yi is indeed the only female cultivator to have led the Lan sect, and the creator of the Chord Assassination technique. This was covered as part of the introduction to the technique in Chapter 55 before Lan Wangji uses it on the Tortoise of Slaughter. We learn that due to the cruel nature of it (used to eliminate or suppress many of her enemies), not many people speak fondly of her but there’s no denying the power of the technique. However, that’s all we get - there’s no back story with BSSR or anything of that sort.

Overall Thoughts:

I have none because this post is already long enough hahahaha

[sunnynoki]

Goodbye to Halos - How Fenic (The Main Protagonist) is Fenic (The Lost Princess)

Ok y’all buckle up because it’s about to be a wild ride.

FIRST OFF: READ GOODBYE TO HALOS. It has incredibly good writing and art and characterization!!! Fenic, the main protag, is a trans lesbian!! The other protags include (but are not limited to) a genderqueer gay lion and a poly wlw! I’ll post a link in the notes so this post shows up in tags, but a search of “Goodbye to Halos” will get you there in the first link!

Also cred to @demi-virgo​ for encouraging me to make this ;w;

Ok so I don’t know how to format this so let’s just start from the first hint and go from there.

And one more important note: Current Fenic will be referred to as just Fenic, and her mom will be referred to as The Lost Princess.

HINT ONE: THE MAAVE

So maave’s are, as a refresher, the mark under a Shade’s eye. They are a unifying trait of the shades (Along with horns and magic, but less so as they aren’t retained in children of Shades and Wildren, but I digress). But there are also "no two alike in form and color”, as Enae put it.

Which is WEIRD because 

Yeah. Impossible. UNLESS... THE LOST PRINCESS AND FENIC ARE THE SAME PERSON! And not in an amnesia kinda way, but in a restarting life kinda way. But we’ll get to that. 

Addendum: 

The wording of “you are very, very closely related to The Lost Princess” is weird when Enae already knows that Fenic is the lost princess’s daughter. Also the rest of this page speaks for itself I think. “Lost princess was immortal”, “There’s no other Fenics” (especially Fenics with that maave and other traits like red hair). This establishes that Fenic and the Lost Princess look similar, if not alike/identical. This will be essential in hint three.

Continued under the cut because I got a loooooottttt more ;3

HINT TWO: GOD’S BLESSING

So as the fight continues, God Herself literally steps in. Well, an avatar of Her’s, later named a Godeye.

God intercepted the knife from hitting Fenic. I won’t post the entire scene here, but basically God shoots the knife at Enae, wounding her BAD. But as God goes to send another attack, Fenic comes in and stands between the two. And then She freaks out????

Now maybe God isn’t a god, but God is just Her name? Also interesting is how She is the only one to use lower case, and only when She says “I”. But that’s another post, as I digress...

God Herself is asking forgiveness from Fenic? After Fenic asked (with her actions” for God not to attack Enae? Enae later talks about this in the following chapter:

“And that girl... blessed by God, she’s the only other one who can sway Her heart. Fenic...”

And who else was blessed by God? The Lost Princess. Before this, Fenic has had no reason to be blessed by god besides being related to the (immortal, may i remind you) lost princess who "died” before Fenic can remember. 

(Also another digression... the only other one? Who is the one Fenic is the “other one” off of? Maybe The Dead Princess? Maybe the old empress? Both are dead, but it’s phrased that she’s one of two, and coming off this theory, perhaps she and The Dead Princess pair up to be the two that can sway God’s heart.)

HINT THREE: ASHER AND TAHMONAI

So their meeting has a ton of different sentences that lead towards this theory, so I’m just going to group them all here. (Note: Enae is narrating and Asher and Tahmonai are talking about The Lost Princess. Tahmonai morphed to The Lost Princess to ask if Asher has seen her.)

“The person you’re looking for... she doesn’t exist anymore” and “That, too was-- somehow -- not true” and “[The Lost Princess] is really immortal too”... these statements don’t have a lot of intersections in the venn diagram of where they can all be true. The only fact that I can think of that does make them true is that Fenic is the rebirth of The Lost Princess. Continuing onto the next page...

There’s a lot to break down here:

“She... was a dear friend of mine.” Meaning The Lost Princess was a friend, not a romantic interest with whom he would have a child with.

“Someone I was lucky enough to know all my life, even if she only knew me for a fraction of her’s.” Implying that The Lost Princess was MUCH older than Asher. Immortality, anyone?

“But there are... circumstances now. Nothing will come of this, Tahmonai.” If this theory is true, then those circumstances are that The Lost Princess doesn’t have her memories, she restarted her life. She isn’t the same person. It clicks.

“Stay in my office. I’ll make arrangements.” Implying he is going to see The Lost Princess to arrange a sort of meeting. But instead he goes to Fenic to send her through the portal. Funny writing there, don’t you think?

After Asher sends Fenic through the portal...

“Did I do the right thing, old friend...?” The name “old friend” is being used here to denote he’s talking about The Lost Princess. Perhaps where she/her reborn self just went through the portal?

“I have to believe this is what you wanted.” (The word “wanted” can be seen if you zoom in close, at least at full resolution). Keyword: “this”. Not “that”. “This” means something that is near, something that was just there. Why would he use “this” for something from someone who is dead? No, what if she, or a version of herself, was just there? And what exactly she, The Lost Princess, wanted? We’ll get to that in hint five.

TO THE NEXT PAGE!

PROBABLY THE HEAVIEST PAGE OF THEM ALL

“I already told you the person you’re looking for doesn’t exist anymore.” Not died, “doesn’t exist anymore.” Specific choice of words!

“Not in a way that’s useful to you.” As in she no longer has her memories, perhaps? That she’s currently a 15 year old? 

“And before she left, she told me...” Before she LEFT. Not died! LEFT!

“That she didn’t want her past to haunt her anymore.” THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT IN HINT FIVE.

“She started over.” BAM. PROBABLY THE CORNERSTONE OF THIS THEORY. Combine these three words with the rest of the theory, and you get the conclusion that “starting over” means something along the lines of reincarnation. But I’ll get to the reincarnation bit later. 

SO THATS ALL UP TO WHERE THE COMIC IS RIGHT NOW! BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE REREAD?

HINT FOUR: FENIC AS A NAME

Now this one is a little shorter but in the prologue we see Fenic name herself for the first time.

After being called a lady, she sorta panics as, like, what’s she gonna do, give her a boy’s name when she’s a girl and just been called that? And her first instinct is to go with her mother’s name. Like, sure, maybe it’s because she think’s “girl’s name go” and the girl/woman/female closest to her is her mom. But I like to think it’s an instinct to keep the same name. It could be read either way, but I feel like it was worth mentioning. 

ALONG WITH A BONUS THEORY. The Lost Princess is trans. I’ve been thinking about how The Lost Princess would restart, and seeing how the maave is the same, the body is likely the same as well, implying a restart like that of a phoenix. Sorta. Meaning that the AGAB is the same. Maybe Asher didn’t know if restarting life would retain trans-ness or w/e OR he didn’t know The Lost Princess was trans. Either way he went with AGAB, clearly. I like to think that The Lost Princess spent a lot of time thinking about her name so it’s really ingrained in her so that it’s an instinct to be called Fenic :]

HINT FIVE: WHY?

So. That mystery chapter huh? Here’s a proposal- who we see is The Lost Princess.

Think about it, the person we see doesn’t have horns or some sort of tail or animal ears, eliminating someone who is purely Shade or Wildren. This leaves Fenic, The Dead Princess, or The Lost Princess, all born of both species. The hair doesn’t match The Dead Princess’s hair, so that eliminates her. 

This leaves the Fenics, whose hair DO match, assuming The Lost Princess and Fenic have the same hair texture, which in the frame of what has been discussed, it does. 

NOW THIS PAGE

Feels like a reason to be reborn to me.

Granted, this chapter, LITERALLY TITLED “premonition” and the names at the beginning could EASILY be shortened for Clairissa and Enae, who would’ve been only babies or unborn when The Lost Princess was around. This is VERY likely in the future, with Fenic. But I only realized this after I started referring to it earlier in the post, so no going back. 

But maybe it’s salvageable. Maybe Fenic is having the same thoughts as The Lost Princess. The Lost Princess, as stated in hint three, didn’t want the past to haunt her anymore. So she chose to forget in a new life, reborn. 

Maybe Fenic is thinking about following in her mother’s footsteps.

This premonition chapter, along with the whole other conspiracy board of “What’s up with Salin (The Dead Princess) and Tahmonai?”, have me very concerned for the future. 

Afterword

Thank you so much for getting this far ;w; I hope and pray that I made literally any sense. As I was collecting pages to put in here, I noticed that this is quite a common theory if the comment section of the pages is anything to go by. I thought so too before all this, so I didn’t really want to put the effort into a post, but Virgo encouraged me to make it anyway sooooo 

Either way, this can still work as a collection of evidence, and an archive on our, or at least my, thoughts on “What’s up with the Fenics” question! Hopefully later down the line we can look at this and be like, “called it!” or, “honey, you’ve got a big storm coming.” 

I could go on about the implications of this theory, but that’s another post of this length tbhhhhhhhhh and also its uh. 12am LOL.

Please reblog this to spread the theory! Even if it’s common, spread it to convince people to read gth? :pleading: I spent like. 2-3 hours on this to try to get my wording right and cohesive, which is really hard for me as I’m very much more an artist than a writer haaaaaaaaa

Thank you so much for reading again! Good morning, good afternoon, good night <3

[earl-of-221b]

Ok @dorkshadows​ @frostyemma​

Here’s a key for names in Blade of the Immortal rendition of the Ikedaya Affair:

桂小五郎 is Katsura Kogoro. 

池田屋 is Ikedaya Inn. 

新選組 is Shinsengumi. 

萬次 (万次) is Manji, the protagonist (one eye, scarred face, healing powers like Wolverine from xmen. Please be aware that he wears an anti-clockwise swastika on his back invoking its original meaning: a buddhist symbol.)

Warning for Blood and Gore and Dismemberment. Now onto the good parts!

Shinsengumi:

Left to right: 

藤堂 平助 (Tengtang Pingzhu) is Todo Heisuke: Eighth Unit Captain -- note the fringe, the gi pattern

永倉 新八 (Yongcang Xingba) is Nagakura Shinpachi: Second Unit Captain 

土方 歳三 (Tufang Suisan) is Hijikata Toshizo: Vice Captain 

近藤 勇 (Jinteng Yong) is Kondo Isami: Captain of the Shinsengumi -- he is shrouded in shadow here

沖田 総司 (Congtian Zhongsi) is Okita Souji: First Unit Captain -- very beautiful and feminine 

井上 源三郎 (Jingshang Yuan-sanlang) is Inoue Genzaburo: Sixth Unit Captain -- an older man

原田 左之助 (Yuantian Zuozhizhu) is Harada Sanosuke: Tenth Unit Captain -- very short, cropped buzzcut hair

斎藤 一 (Zhaiteng Yi) is Saito Hajime: Third Unit Captain -- note the...long bangs. The fashionable gi. The body-clinging shirt. Very stoic and quiet, keeping to himself.

First 6 chapters are about Manji and sets up plot stuff. Ch 6 onwards deals with the Shinsengumi and Ikedaya. 

Chapter 7 Link. Overview:

Prelude to Ikedaya. Vice Captain Hijikata Toshizo (centre, vein in head) leads a strike team to raid a store rumoured to be aiding Ishin Shishi. The team includes Okita Souji (stripy hakama) and two known, real life Shinsengumi spies: 島田 Shimada Kai (big man, mole eye) and 山崎 Yamazaki Susumu (bandana). 

In the house, 古高俊太郎 Furutaka Shuntaro and some helpers are indeed moving and stockpiling weapons for the Ishin Shishi. Furutaka is Ishin Shishi. He is arrested. 

Later Manji, an immortal man (buddhist swastika) is talking to a friend with wild hair 坂本龍馬 Sakamoto Ryoma (LMAO) who tells him to go visit a fellow Revolutionary: Katsura Kogoro from Choshu (so shook to learn Choshu is 长州).

Furutaka is strung upside down as Hijikata tortures him for ‘information’ (this is apparently true to records). 

Manji meets 桂小五郎 Katsura (reading letter). 

Chapter 8 Overview: 

The Unit Captains of the Shinsengumi come together for a meeting. Kondo addresses the group, they have gotten their hands on some very juicy information thanks to Hijikata. There is some intrigue within the group. Everyone is shocked to hear of the alleged ‘the Ishin Shishi are planning to burn down Kyoto as a distraction’ plan.  

(Manga specific plot: evil little doctor girl studying Manji’s immortality.) 

Next, another group is also coming together on rare occasion. The Ishin Shishi revolutionaries are introduced arriving at the Ikedaya Inn. People from Tosa Clan, Choshu Clan, Higo Clan. (This is before Sakamoto Ryoma struck a deal between Satsuma and Choshu. Satsuma is still in court as moderate reformists. They are against Choshu and co at this time.) 

Chapter 9 casual translation:

The Shinsengumi gear up. They have tips on two inns, they split up to cover both. The two spies are their own group, their go-between. 

Inside the Ikedaya 宫部鼎藏 Miyabe Teizo (white beard, moon gi - from Higo) and Katsura discuss their plans in light of the Shinsegumi’s weapons bust. Miyabe was a real life extremist, in here he scorns Katsura for not wanting to burn Kyoto during the Gion festival. The original plan was to take the Imperial Palace while Kyoto burns (never proved if this was real in history, but allegedly, yea). 

Katsura makes a vote of non-confidence. “We should not attack the imperial palace because failure is possible. And if we fail we will never heal from the scars of this defeat. The revolution will be over.” “We should not attack, especially since we have lost valuable stores of weapons.”

Miyabe: “Then what does Katsura-kun suggest?” (just worked out right now 君 is kun) 

Katsura: “We wait. Tosa’s Sakamoto Ryoma-kun has travelled to Ezo for negotiations and planning. It will not be amiss to wait.” (Ezo today is Hokkaido, North Japan.)

But another man called Yoshida goes: “That’s too benign/ mild. I am from Choshu Clan as well...but I think Katsura-sensei’s reasoning is too compromising/ safe. These mild, half-hearted strategies only get in the way of things that we can achieve when we give it our all. To protect the country, sacrifices are a given.”

(I cannot for the life of me find out who 吉田Yoshida [can’t translate given name] is.) Everyone cheers for Yoshida’s pro-burning, anti-Katsura hot take. 

Manji: “Are you dumb or what? Your plan is a mess.” “You love to act on your feelings like thought experiments(?) What an idealistic bunch.” 

Miyabe: “How about this, then...we change our plans.”

Pg 12 Miyabe: “We attack the Shinsengumi’s Mibu den. We rescue Furutaka. The likelihood of success is higher.” 

Resounding ‘Hell yes! We’re not afraid of no Shinsengumi, good idea’ cries. 

Manji: “You guys did not come here to discuss did ya?”

Outside the meeting room, a few guards hear some noise downstairs. Since they are out of booze, one goes to very half heartedly check downstairs and get more booze while he’s at it. 

The Shinsengumi arrive. The raid starts. 

...

Okita: “Looks like the Ikedaya was the right inn.” 

Nagakura: “Alrighty. Let’s go teach’em a lesson.”

...

People come out of the meeting room. “What’s all that noise down there?”

“So freaking noisy!”

Insane Kondo Isami who apparently famously said: 

“Routine Inspection!!”

“Shin....shin...SHINSENGUMI!” 

Manji: “Ha--ahh??”

Next panels shows the Shinsengumi covering all the exists on the first floor. (Todo Heisuke with the fringe and cross-hatched hakama). 

Pg 28 Todo Heisuke wonders about reinforcements that haven’t joined in tonight (not sure who they are.) Okita coughs cos he has tb. 

Todo Heisuke: “Are you alright, Okita-sensei? You’ve been coughing quite a lot lately.” 

Okita: “I apologise. I’ve made you worry.” “...tonight the condition I’m in can be considered quite good.”

*Equips poison damage to sword.*

“Don't even have the cold tremors of 芹澤先生 Serizawa-sensei.” 

(Referring to none another than Serizawa Kamo, the original leader of the Shinsengumi. He historically did not have tb or die of disease though...Kondo’s side initiated a hostile takeover of the Shinsengumi and he was eventually Assassinated under orders from Protector of Kyoto, Matsudaira. Apparently in this version he was not assassinated. Funny of Okita to mention this...)

...

Yamazaki (bandana spy) runs by: “Vice Captain!”

“What is it?” 

“It’s the Ikedaya Inn!”

“Confirmed?” 

“Yes...about 40 people...including that man with one eye.” (Manji, cos he’s the main character.) 

I thought what went on in the Ikedaya was actually quite interesting so translated most of it. The rest is mostly self explanatory, lost of fighting, dismemberment, immortal hijinks. 

Chapter 10 and rest of chapters here. 

Chapter 10 covers how Katsura famously jumps the window to escape (which got him a bad name for a bit as the window-jumping coward LOL.)

Manji jumps down right in front of Todo Heisuke. But he doesn’t particularly want to kill anyone. Manji himself used to be very skilled with the sword, but since he’s been immortal for more than 100 years he has a pretty low regard for his own bodily wellbeing. Which gives some pretty intense scenes so be warned. 

Todo is good with the sword -- but Okita is on another level. Okita is the prodigy of prodigies. 

Ch 11-12 Okita v Immortal Manji, Kondo v Miyabe. The Kondo scenes are NOT to be missed! Manji is a great swordsman when he tries, but in what I think is a bold move, the manga makes the point to tell us he is NOT as good a swordsman as Okita. Okita is stronger! Okita is more skilled!  

But Manji...cannot die. 

The second Shinsengumi group arrive to reinforce the first. Hijikata and Saito are here. Katsura v Shinsengumi foot soldiers. Bakufu soldiers are also called to the scene -- but Hijikata tells them to sod off, this is a Shinsengumi raid and they’ll take good care of it. Manga oc villainesses arrive. 

Ch 13-14 also very interesting. Okita has been gored by Manji. Kondo and Hijikata hear that Okita has been injured. This is incredible to them, because Okita is their best swordsman. 

Katsura and Manji escape back to Choshu’s estate (can see the Mori Clan mon/crest, one line, three dots beneath it). Katsura, basically: FUCK!! FUUCKK!! Man the doors, no one in or out!” “Today...the Shinsengumi won this one.” “But this...is far from over.”

Kondo petitions the doctor girl to do anything to save Okita. Even okaying super dangerous experimental surgery (this is to do with the wild manga plot where the doctor girl is studying Manji’s immortality -- he’s infested with helpful parasites that mend his wounds called ‘blood worms.’) Doctor girl: organ transplant dangerous. Kondo: DO IT!

If the surgery is successful -- I think Okita is immortal too!!!! BUT if it is unsucessful, Okita will turn basically into a zombie.

(Some VERY Frankenstein-ish horror imagery jump scare when the mad scientists show us what will happen to Okita if the Immorality surgery goes WrongTM.) 

Behold, this zombie man, test subject for the blood worm immortality tests is  --- 芹澤 Serizawa Kamo. Original leader of the Shinsengumi with a fate worse than death. It looks like the Shinsengumi, or at least Kondo and HIjikata are in cahoots with the mad scientists in some way -- the shadowy villainesses are all on their side. Anyways, the doctor girl works out that Okita’s wound was Not That Bad and he Should Be Dead -- and makes the connection that he was stabbed by Manji.

I think the implication is that Manji unknowingly transferred the blood worms to him through his extremely unhygienic stab. (Need the prior knowledge to know that people with the same blood type are able to accept the blood worm parasites...) 

So now Okita might be ~immortal~ 

Starts off as historically accurate dramatisation for the most part -- then goes into 1864 bakumatsu scifi. You’re welcome. 

[drshojo]

The Case Study for Having the Hottest Character in a Vampire Story be a Self-Proclaimed Average Human.

You ever tell yourself you ought to marry a nice doctor?

Did you spend your tween-aged years day dreaming about some hot goth vampire boy?  

Do you like your characters with manic smiles and unhinged personalities?  

If you answered NO to any or all three of these points you should STILL read The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki. It's really quite Good.  

If you answered YES to any of these, you then you probably saw the hot unhinged vampire doctor and aren’t even reading this anymore. For you that’s enough information to dive head first into this Kool-Aid. I'm not judging. But I see you there. 

Okay, okay so backing up a bit, it was recently my birthday so I decided to Treat Myself. I picked up a manga that I had never heard of, though I liked the cover. When I flipped through the pages I caught sight of this panel:

AND YOU KNOW I CAN STAN A BASIC BINCH. NO POWERS ONLY SASS. And then I flipped a bit more and I saw this gem:

DAMMMMMMMN SON YOUR WORDS SAY YOU’RE GOING TO SAVE LIVES BUT YOUR EYES AND THESE BLOOD SPLATTERS SAY YOU’RE GOING TO MURDER SOMEONE. It’s the Gap Moe I never knew I wanted.

And then I saw this face:

And that’s when the money left my wallet.  

SO, what on earth did I buy? Wat is this story even? Well we’re about to get into my plot overview and review! Spoilers ahead! ALTHOUGH it’s worth noting that I'm only reviewing volume one AND only summarizing chapter one so you’re probably fine.

Our story begins with a vampire called Noe. Noe lives in a world where vampires and humans coexist, so him being a vampire is Not a Big Deal. More important to his character is that he's looking for this book called the Book of Vanitas.

A side note about Noe—

I bought this story for Vanitas but Noe is Best Boi.

HE IS A PURE CINNAMON ROLL. Noe is at heart a country bumpkin who can see beauty and wonder in everything. He’s polite, a tad blunt, and he loves his cat Murr.  He also has a backbone and a strong sense of justice. Bless him.  

Anyways Noe goes with his cat to look for this book. He’s having a good time too; he has never been on an airship before so he’s super excited. He also has never been to Paris so he’s thrilled at the thought of traveling. He’s just very wide eyed and ready for adventure to happen to him and it’s incredibly endearing.

And lo! Adventure happens!

He meets a young woman named Amelia who turns out to be a Sick Vampire, and then she has a bit of a psychotic breakdown because it turns out there's some evil force infecting vampires that makes them go feral and corrupt their True Names (which seems to work via fae logic in this universe—so think of a vampire’s name as their soul?)

Anyways, sick vampire! What do you do if there's a sick vampire? Do you need a vampire doctor?

Yes! Yes, you do! That’s where Vanitas comes in. He crashes through the ceiling because why the fuck not

--and because he looks like such a ruffian that we pretty much assume he is here to kill Amelia. But nope.

He’s a vampire doctor and wants to save all the vampires even though he himself is a human. So, he rescues Amelia and turns her back from a raging demon to just regular undead citizen and all’s well that ends well.

And then Vanitas is like, “OH HEY Noe! You're our protagonist and audience viewpoint! Why don’t you join me in saving the vampires! AND guess what! I also own this book you were looking for! It’s the source of all my power!”

And Noe tells him “NO. I DON’T LIKE YOU.”

And so, the series ends and they go their separate ways.

Lol. As if.  Poor Noe, he’s got a case of unwilling protagonist syndrome. But Joseph Campbell and the rest of us know that the heroic quest cycle will soon dictate his call to action!

Like it or not, Noe and Vanitas are going to be glued together from now on. Let the vampire adventure hijinks ensue!

Anyways, now for the review portion of our post.

Obviously, the immediate appeal for this manga is the art. Jun Mochizuki is a veteran of the industry and it really shows. Each panel is beautifully laid out; the art and expressions are detailed and clear. Even small throw-away panels are given their due, and they even went so far as to hire some designers to draw some of the more complicated stuff, like the airship. They did not cheap out on the background details AT ALL.

The other big draw for this manga is the banter. Noe and Vanitas are so incredibly likable yet distinct in their personalities—Noe being the naïve but earnest straight man and Vanitas being the hyper yet cynical jokester. They really complement each other and any scenes they have together are a treat.

The only thing I’m not sure of is the plot. I’ve only read volume one but so far it’s already foreshadowing a ton of mysteries so I really hope the author knows where they are going. Nothing’s worse than a story that hints at a lot but doesn't pay off (COUGH COUGH GAME OF THRONES COUGH GOUGH)  

What I can attest to is that the action sequences are excellent. They are clear, well-staged and engaging. Manga has so much trouble staging action sometimes but it’s done well here, which is good because this manga looks like there will be a ton of fights with vamps gone wild.

Anyways, if any of this at all piques your interest, give it a read! Heck, it even has an endorsement from Hiromu Arakawa (the mangaka of Full Metal Alchemist fame) so if you don’t believe me, believe one of the gods of the industry!

Anyways, let me know if you have read this and what you think, or if you have any series you want me to look at next!

Ciao!

Dr. Shojo

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 221: What’s Up, Doc

Previously on BnHA: We caught up with everyone’s favorite squad of homicidal misfits some six-odd weeks before the start of the current arc. Tomura and the gang were straight up broke, squatting in a condemned building somewhere out in the mountains and raiding racist secret societies to steal their shit. As it turns out, having no money and no sense of direction or purpose starts to weigh on one’s soul after a while, and Spinner in particular seemed to be having a bit of a hard time, since he only joined the League because of Stain. Just when it looked like we might be in for a bit of internal strife, our friend Gigantomachia literally tore the door down, announced he was there to meet AFO’s successor, and then demanded for him to prove that he was worthy. Which is how the League found themselves getting their asses kicked by this sobbing giant rock man as he lamented over how weak they were. The chapter ended with Giganto’s discarded radio trying to get Tomura’s attention. Apparently the voice on the other end belongs to none other than AFO’s personal physician, a mysterious man known only as “the doctor” who is behind the creation of the Noumus.

Today on BnHA: The doc explains that Gigantomachia is All for One’s former bodyguard and one of the people AFO trusted the most. AFO hid him away a few years back, anticipating his own eventual defeat. Unfortunately, Giganto’s unfailing loyalty to AFO has made him unwilling to accept anyone who doesn’t live up to his former master. For the time being, the doc calms him down by playing a recording of AFO’s voice. He then proceeds to teleport the entire League to his hideout using the black sludge warping quirk. Over at the hideout, we see that the doc is in fact the spitting image of Deku’s old doctor from chapter 1, pretty much confirming a long-held fan theory. Also, this dude’s got no fewer than 12 motherfucking High-End Noumus floating around in tanks. The doc introduces himself as Ujiko Daruma (which even he admits is a fake name), and he tells Tomura that he summoned him and his gang because he wants Tomura to prove he’s worth. Anyway so during this chapter I proceeded to lose my shit like 1700 times, and tbh even rereading it now it still gets me hyped up. Oh my freaking god.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 226, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

oh my god

safe to say that “hyped as fuck” is a pretty accurate description of what I’m feeling right now

lol what the

Horikoshi, PSA, that’s not how radios work. were you perhaps thinking of cell phones? or walkie-talkies??

then again I suppose this might be some fancy schmancy radio FROM THE FUTURE or whatever

oh shit Tomura ain’t even joking though

giganto smash

I can’t believe Shigaraki Tomura is fucking dead. so much for your successor AFO

nah just kidding, he’s fine, at least presuming that he’s able to somehow land safely after all... this

guess we know what happened to poor Naomasa and that mountainside now

anyway, so guys. shit like this? is why Deku fucking needs to power the fuck up though. friendly reminder that the current #1 hero almost lost to fucking Hide and Seek Noumu. meanwhile this guy is out here leveling countrysides with a single Goron Pound. even Gran Torino wasn’t able to touch him. literally if our boy doesn’t get his Avatar State on soon the heroes are going to be in very bad shape here

anyway, so Giganto is still sobbing, and shouting to All for One (he can’t hear you, bro) that he wants to accept Tomura but he just can’t

okay but consider reading chapters 159 and 160 and then coming back and letting me know if you’ve had a change of heart. I’m just saying. he fucked up Overhaul something fierce and he deserves some credit. even if it was all just so he could steal Overhaul’s evil plan all for himself. because he has yet to come up with any kind of decent evil plan of his own. because between you and me, I don’t think he’s quite cut out for -- you know what, shit. maybe you’re onto something after all

so now Tomura is having a hilarious conversation with this sobbing rock man and a radio while still in mid-air

-- RECORD SCRATCH. FREEZE FRAME

SAY WHAT NOW. BACK THE FUCK UP, PRAYTELL??

are you saying this guy is the original Talking Noumu?? did AFO give him multiple quirks? is he like Wolverine or something and he’s got like a healing factor that can take a licking and keep on ticking? so they got all excited and loaded him up? ARE YOU EVEN REALLY MADE OF ROCK, FRIEND, OR IS THAT JUST ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR LIES

(ETA: I think this translation is wrong, actually; Viz’s translation says that Giganto is strong enough to be AFO’s bodyguard even without multiple quirks. in other words, he’s as strong as a Noumu without actually being one. which is arguably just as much of a shocking statement though.)

anyway so What’s Up Doc is continuing to explain Giganto’s life story so let’s un-freeze that frame

more evidence that AFO was taking steps to ensure himself a line of succession even before meeting Tomura. AFO have you ever seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2? spoiler alert, you know how Peter’s dad went and had a bunch of kids with people of all different species in order to try and create offspring that carried the same power as him, so he could use them to destroy the galaxy and shit? well my question for you is Did You Do That Exact Same Thing, Minus The Galaxy-Destroying Part. huh. huh

anyway now Dabi’s weighing in

and What’s Up Doc is all

“yep! we fucked up!!”

lol he says Giganto’s loyalty is too strong for his own good. went a bit overboard did we AFO

and nice lowkey Tomura burn as well. he says that Giganto is despairing at the “huge gap” between AFO and Tomura

so now Dabi is all “okay so we just have to do our best to kick his ass until he likes us?”

and he’s firing some flames, looking like he’s not exactly opposed to the thought

but WUD is saying that’s impossible, oh damn

what the

the hell was that click?? did he just hang up??

doesn’t seem that way, so... hmm. does he maybe have Giganto conditioned to respond to certain sounds or something? Pavlov-style?

(ETA: this really reminds me of the Avengers doing that “hey big guy, sun’s getting real low” lullaby thing with the Hulk lol.)

did he just shrink back down to size

um, what

should we... give him a moment

ohhhhhhhhhh

well that explains it then. no wonder they had him with the radio strapped around his neck

I wonder what would happen if they found out Mina was also capable of calming him down. Giganto whisperer. if SIXQUIRKS Deku ultimately fails, she may just be our last hope

and Tomura, shush. we’ve been waiting for him to join your party since chapter 50-something. this is literally years in the making. it took you time to warm up to your other misfits too, so you shut up and you deal with it

last observation before I click to the next page: is Giganto not wearing any pants. because. it looks to me like he’s not wearing any pants. just saying. um. ...

(ETA: you guys this makes me so uncomfortable though.)

OH SHIT WUD is calling Tomura out!!

AS THE PHILOSOPHER JAGGER ONCE SAID, “YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT”

fucking look at that halo of realization surrounding Tomura at this concept, though

wow he’s taking it better than I thought though

I’m not sure what Tomura’s relationship with WUD is, but up until this point I can’t recall him ever actually listening to another character and not throwing a tantrum even when they tell him something he doesn’t want to hear. like, he listened to Kurogiri more or less, but bitched about it endlessly when he didn’t like it. and even with AFO he would whine until he got his way

and yet here WUD is straight up telling him “AFO done spoiled you, kid” and he’s just like “ouch. that’s pretty harsh” but at the same time just... accepting it. Tomura you’ve done quite a bit of growing up, haven’t you?

and I think part of it is also that he’s probably been coming to these realizations on his own as well, but not really wanting to accept them yet. but he’s not stupid; what with their recent troubles it was probably starting to sink in just how good he’d had it earlier

anyway, so now WUD is saying “a moment please” and I guess he’s going off to do something

DFAKLSDJFLAKSD

HOLY SHIT IT’S THE BLACK OOZE WARP AGAIN

ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO MEET THE MYSTERIOUS UJIKO PLEASE SAY YES OH MY GOD OH SHIT

holy shit

so even they don’t know what’s going on. well I’m glad that someone is finally having the same freaking-the-fuck-out reaction that I did back in chapter 191 but no one else seemed to share my shock or concern even though WHAT THE FUCK YOU GUYS

so quick reminder that this quirk works by teleporting the user a short-range distance (supposedly; I think the limit was 5km) either toward the quirk-user, or toward someone with whom the user is well-acquainted with. so presumably that means that whoever’s using the quirk is closer to them than they think, and also this person is with the doc right now

(ETA: though on further reflection I think that AFO’s may have just had limited range because he’d just acquired it. it must be one of those quirks that you can power up with time and practice. 5km is way too limited of a range given how this quirk has been used the last few times we’ve seen it.)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HOLY SHIT IT REALLY IS HIM!?!?!

holy fucking shit holy shit oh my god holy shit

this is Deku’s quirk doctor. that’s him, 100%. Tsubasa’s grandpa, who 100% confirmed turned his grandson into a Noumu. and who is now confirmed to be AFO’s personal doctor. and just happened to be hanging out in Musutafu conducting quirk tests on our protagonist when he was a young child

you guys I’m calling it -- Dad for One just went up to 50% likelihood. we are up to a 1 in 2 chance of this shit being confirmed as fucking canon. we have officially reached the point where these are confirmed to no longer be coincidences, or reaching for something that isn’t actually there. this is now either deliberate misdirection on Horikoshi’s part... or. it’s fucking true

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: that was a four-page quadruple fucking whammy you guys. shock after fucking shock. this chapter is amazing.)

oh my god!?!?!

okay so first of all, is that Hyped Up Noumu there on the far right?? it’s the same head, for sure. doesn’t quite look exactly the same as the final version, though. so maybe just a brother or cousin, or maybe he was incomplete

and we’ve got our first female Noumu as well! League of Villains doesn’t discriminate! nope

two of these Noumus appear to be missing the lower halves of their legs. friendly reminder that these were once normal people -- quite possibly children -- and we don’t know how much they can actually still feel. this is fucking horrifying and I’m not even joking, it’s fairly sickening to think about

I’m trying to see if I can identify any other familiar quirks, but so far it’s a no. I will point out that that one Noumu second from the left appears to have multiple Xenomorph heads. enjoy your nightmares kids

and last, these are all black Noumus, a.k.a. the special super-powerful kind. and there are at least a dozen here that we can see

so once again, just throwing it out there -- we might just be in need of a superpowered OFA kid with SIXQUIRKS once shit hits the fan and the fucking APOCALYPSE breaks loose or whatever the fuck this is all building up to, holy fucking shit

I’m seriously fucking stunned, though. leave it to Horikoshi to have me dropping my jaw to the floor on one page and then making my eyes fucking bug out of their sockets with the next

and so the heroes, as it turns out, did not even come close to unpacking all of AFO’s secrets. didn’t that one cop say way back in like chapter 96 that it was almost like he’d wanted the police to find that warehouse, and that it almost seemed too easy? so now this is evidence that everything -- basically all of Kamino -- was actually all according to AFO’s plan, and he intentionally let that hideout fall into the heroes’ hands. and even more terrifyingly, he most likely intentionally let himself get captured and it’s all part of a long con that he is currently enjoying the shit out of

tl;dr we’re screwed

anyways I think that’s all the freaking out and speculation and weak-attempts-at-analysis I can squeeze out from this two page spread for now. so let’s finish up the rest of the chapter then

so we’re getting confirmation now that Tomura has never been here before

oh my god the shock is finally wearing down and being replaced by HYPPPPPPPPE you guys...!!

so Doctor Eggman here is cackling and confirming that these are indeed not your everyday Noumu

“these children” oh my god

I suddenly feel the urge to go and hug all my U.A. babies. god bless them and please keep them safe! and I feel a particularly urgent need to hug my boy Katsuki especially, because yet again I got to wondering just what would have happened to him if he hadn’t been rescued, if All Might and the Pizza Delivery Team hadn’t come right when they did. and if he’d still refused to join Tomura. and just... shit

and one last friendly reminder that Tsubasa was Katsuki’s friend. the two of them were colossal assholes to Deku together (or well, Katsuki was an asshole and Tsubasa just followed him around smiling, mostly) when they were only four years old. there is a decent chance he’s actually met this man in the context of him being Tsubasa’s grandfather (not that he’d recognize the face given how little attention he pays to these things). and of course, Deku has met him face to face as well -- this is the man that completely altered the course of his life from age 4 through 14

sorry I keep getting so sidetracked guys, but this chapter just portends. y’know? this is some ominous foreshadowing fucking destiny shit. like, this seriously just became one of the most important plot chapters in the entire series. and just, we are finally, finally on to big things once again, and ffffffffffff but I’m so excited I can’t even fucking sit still

sdlfkjsadlkflSLDFHHSDKHFLKHLKJLKJ

THE HANDS. THE FUCKING -- HOLY SHIT

and also! he’s going to duplicate the fucking PERMANENT QUIRK-BE-GONE AHHHHHHH

this just got so much worse. everything. so much fucking worse

honestly starting to feel like six quirks may not actually be enough

anyway, so Compress is squinting and saying that he can’t clearly make out Eggman’s face “what with that backlight”

and. uh

hahaha well fuck. okay then

and Twice is all “jesus christ okay then dude, you’re the one who fucking brought us here to begin with”

and yeah, speaking of. care to explain that?? ever???

all right, so Eggman’s saying that he teleported them there because he doesn’t want to reveal his location

DLSAFHOIHW

so he’s Ujiko??? well shit, there goes the possibility of Ujiko being a lady villain. sorry Toga. still all you, Best Girl

after this I’ll have to go check out Caleb Cook’s twitter to see what he has to say about the name, given that Ujiko claims to have made it up on the spot just now

(ETA: here:

so basically his way of saying he’s AFO’s disciple, I guess.)

anyway, so now he’s saying that the reason he called Tomura here was out of respect for some arrangement that he had with AFO

I’m gonna assume that AFO was procuring quirks for him to aid in his research

oh my god you guys

it just occurred to me that this arc? might be Tomura’s version of getting his own power-ups similar to what Deku’s gotten recently. gotta keep that playing field level after all

lol oh damn

so this is like a Price is Right showcase. all this can be yours, if...

so what are you gonna do now, Tomura. ball’s in your court

and that’s the end of the chapter. oh my god

how many chapters into this arc are we actually?? and already we’ve got the Detnerat shit; Shouto and Katsuki finally getting their licenses (KACCHAN WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO CONFIRM YOUR HERO NAME???); and now these last two incredible League of Villain plot chapters. it’s been like five chapters, and this arc is already like a top three. absolutely incredible

[momestuck]

Let’s read Hiveswap Friendsim - volume 6

We just met a cool assassin and the sleaziest Ally(TM) ever. What horrors awaits us next?

Unusually, this time we have a pair of trolls for one of them. But first, we’ve got Elwurd - cerulean blood, equal to Vriska. Kuprum and Fokyl meanwhile have yellow blood, equal to Sollux.

Elwurd

Elwurd is created by Magdalena Clarke, who previously wrote flyboy Vikare.

As soon as our protagonist meets Elwurd, they freak out - understandably because the last few bluebloods we’ve met have been various levels of sadistic monster, starting right back with Ardata in the first episode.

Elwurd’s soundtrack is pretty cool, distorted guitars and a piano. I wish I knew how to describe music! Her (gendered by the narrator) quirk seems to be capitalising the letter L, and nothing else.

But the narrator’s into her look as well, which is good because otherwise the narrator would be entirely unrelatable. We get a moment of introspection...

The narrator chooses to hang with her without an option. The now-standard episode structure is lampshaded...

But we get to choose the closer place or the farther place. This is pretty much random. Let’s go far.

Before long, Elwurd gets a text.

Apparently her ex is like, haunting all the places they used to go together, and flirting with all her friends.

Guess Elwurd isn’t as punk as she looks.

We learn that Elwurd’s ex is a jadeblood, and she gets the idea that we should pretend to be her new partner to fuck with the ex. Eesh. Also apparently troll jerking off can only be represented by ‘a complicated motion’, so xenobiologist headcanoners take note...

To be fair, last time it was to flee from the cops. That was a bit more serious.

The narration notes that there is no way for this to end except with you falling in love with her.

We get to choose between ‘Fake date.’ and ‘FAKE DATE!!’ so... yeah. So much for those misgivings! :D

Let’s be a little reserved...

If her looks weren’t lesbian enough... check out that poster.

Unfortunately, the ex turns out to be...

Hey there Bronya. And oh great, we’re in a lesbian love triangle with trolls.

By which I mean holy shit yes we’re in a lesbian love triangle with trolls!

They make a perfect couple!

We get dragged in as the fake date. Bronya is a little surprised and hurt that we’re with Elwurd. But, she insists, she’s just here for the sweater.

We’re still in Tagora’s robe. ...his bathrobe? We’ve been in a dressing gown this entire time?

Help I’m enjoying this dumb lesbian romcom stuff... I have simple tastes ok

Narrator gets some good ideas, occasionally. We get the magic f-word, and that rounds out the arc!

So what are our other options?

Well first, let’s see what kind of failure mode we get from picking the closer place to hang out this time...

This one gets an entire background!

Unfortunately, at this point she ditches us for a hotter troll girl.

Honestly!

Now if we’re a little too enthusiastic about the fake date...

Unfortunately, she takes this as a sign that we want to rebound from our own fake ex. We go along with this and she decides to take us out to get over our breakout. So I guess we won’t be seeing Bronya in this one...

Honestly. This lesbian troll is like... less given to petty cruelty than most trolls? We’ll take it!

Check out this troll hipster.

We’ve been taken to, it turns out, a lesbian coffee shop. Because we’re an alien, “nobody’s gonna ask”. Actually, what does that sign say? ...no, it just says coffee. However, it’s using the older, upside down Daedric alphabet used in Homestuck, instead of the newly created Alternian alphabet used elsewhere in the Hiveswap games...

And we’re here for...

Slam poetry.

Lesbians!

We agree, probably unwisely, to do some troll slam poetry. Or rather, excessive bodily force poetry. This is going to end sooo well. I mean, we already know we’re on the failure branch.

Unfortunately, troll slam poetry is...

...not that familiar. ‘Tubes and pushers and levers and sacs’. Eep.

Inevitably, also, troll slam poetry involves actual slamming. I was waiting for that joke to arrive.

I am really curious how this is gonna end.

Oh, trolls. ‘If our hate was real enough...’ God this is a fun episode.

This sounds like an exceptional idea. No way this can go wrong. We talk about knees and random Earth celebrities, and finish the performance by hitting ourself in the face.

Luckily, this doesn’t alienate Elwurd. She wants to know about our ‘fakeup’. Which is to say, she’s thinking about Bronya. What does our dear protag do...

They tell the truth about having lied. Elwurd is...

...not impressed. But I appreciate the Cowboy Bebop ref.

Honestly, of all the ways that could have ended, that’s not the worst.

I liked this arc. It had lesbians.

Kuprum and Folykl

This episode’s called “of text and envy, green”, and we’ve had envy in Elwurd’s route, so I’m guessing the next one is gonna be some kinda 4chan thing. Aysha U. Farah is back.

We wander into a poorer neighbourhood. Before long, we’re hiding in an alleyway.

The text on the Condesce posters - once again in upsidedown Daedric rather than the new font - says ‘OBEY’.

Our two trolls arrive on the scene with various kinds of ‘lol’ - and sure enough, > greentext notation.

To be more specific, Kuprum uses greentext, and Folykl (how’s that even pronounced? follicle?) puts in random spaces. Not sure which is which yet. Their theme song is kinda chiptunesy.

I don’t think even people on /b/ talk like this anymore! ...but maybe that’s just wishful thinking. I’m not gonna check.

We get to choose to stick up for ourself or take it lying down. Let’s get trolled.

They make fun of us some more and leave. Even the narrator thinks we dodged a bullet there.

So let’s ‘take it lying down’. The narration comments on this...

Apparently saving them the effort of dunking on us is an appealing trait, to Folykl at least. We learn that Kuprum - the boy - is psychic, while Folkyl has no eyes. Guessing she had them put out because her psychic powers were an issue or something, though why they didn’t just cull her...

heh

We are told that Kuprum really does straight up say ‘LOL’ out loud. And the reason that Folkyl doesn’t have eyes is a disease called ‘voidrot’ which only affects yellowbloods, meaning ‘her body doesn’t retain energy like it’s supposed to’.

The subject of Trizza comes up. I believe Trizza is the current Heir, predecessor to Feferi. Presumably at some point over the course of Hiveswap, she’s going to die.

The two have differing opinions...

The narrator decides to compliment on blackrom. The narration highlights that this is a weird thing to do, but that’s our narrator. They tell us they’re actually pale.

This leads us to the non-instant-death choice for this branch:

Let’s insult them. They’ll probably appreciate that.

Kuprum takes it as a challenge, like we’re making a move on Folkyl. I feel like our narrator doesn’t have long to live.

Anyway, this leads to Folykl approaching like...

And that leads to, uh... her kissing us and then...

this happening?

Yeah, I don’t even know what this chapter’s supposed to be about. 4chan kids with weird kinks?

And we get drained of our psychic energy, or something. Yeah uh... that was... fuck even knows. Aysha, you ok?

Well, let’s not insult people and get into a bizarre vampiric psychic energy smooch thing. Especially when like... how old is Folykl supposed to be?

So yeah we get judged as normie.

The narration grumbles about this assessment.

We move on, returning to the bluebloods lured into the square (by hacking their GPS, or some troll equivalent I forgot). The narrator tries to go meet them, and the 4chan kids remind us this is less ‘prank’ and more ‘class war’. One of the bluebloods goes to call the drones. A ‘chartered scuttlebus’ shows up, and we get more insults for trying to board it without having an appropriate hemospectrum rank.

Heh. There’s some rather explicit commentary about how violence is only acceptable in a certain direction in this society, and these kids couldn’t confront the bluebloods directly.

The drones show up and we make an exit. Unfortunately we meet a drone coming the other way, and the two kids are blasted apart.

The narrator manages to distract the drone long enough for Kuprum to wreck it. There are a lot of comments about our uselessness in a crisis.

Shit’s gotten a bit real, but you still gotta lol.

The narration makes some pointed comments...

And we get our friendship screen.

I really don’t know what to make of this chapter in all honesty. Like ok, getting to chill with a lesbian doing suitably dykey things, like relationship drama and slam poetry, was a lot of fun. And like, if it wasn’t for the failure branch, I’d be pretty happy with the 4chan dorks too.

But... what the heck was up with that branch where Folykl smooches you and drains your energy after you insult her relationship? That’s like... a very weird way for a chapter to go.

I feel like it was trying to make a point like... yeah they are kind of jerks to each other but they provide something important and really care under the ribbing, something about like... hurt people coming together in a horrific situation. But they could have made that point perfectly well without that whole ‘kissing the narrator suddenly’ thing which just felt really uncomfortable.

All the same, there we go. Three friends for the price of two!

[ryouverua]

Miu and Co’s Stimulating Virtual Adventures (Part 1)

is this going to be a normal field trip?

WITH KOKICHI OUMA? NO WAY ~ !

insert shuichi groaning

Oh cool we got a whole animated sequence!

I FUCKING KNEW IT

AAAAAAH!

AAAAAAH!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

THEY’RE SO FUCKING CUTE WHAT THE HELL

THIS ISN’T WHAT I EXPECTED AT ALL!!!!

Yeah, seriously! I guess I was expecting sprites similar to Hajime’s from last game, or at least an island setting - this really does look like a murder mystery manor! good god we aren’t on rokkenjima are we

I’M SENDING A STRONGLY-WORDED LETTER TO THOSE IN CHARGE

Aaaaw, it’s played off for laughs but it really is sad for K1-b0 to be constantly disparaging himself like that.

But there is good and bad about the new sprites, which someone who has been incredibly aware and sensitive of the changes in his own body probably clued into immediately...

See now that the audience knows, he can slip and say stuff like this out loud, huh? It... almost makes me wish the scene at the end of the last chapter had taken place at the end of this one. That might just be a pacing thing though...

PUSH HIM DAMN IT

PUSH HIM ON IT SHUICHI I BEG YOU

... DAMN IT HE’S NOT PUSHING HIM.

HA

I just realized, we’re going to see a lot more of people’s emotions thanks to the way the sprites work. I wonder if they directly translate to mood? Does that mean Maki and, hell, Kokichi will be more transparent here?

Omfg the literal first thing Kokichi does to K1-b0 is punch him!!! The robophobia never ends...

Wait, question though - how is it connected to K1-b0? I mean blah blah blah, brainwave technological voodoo etc is connecting all the other kids to the helmets, but what about for K1-b0? How does that work? I... guess it’s better not to think about it too hard? 8′D

Man, Iruma’s a lot cuter here too. Also, seems like a good time to mention I’m totally in love with their little headshots at the bottom left with the little animated dialogue bubbles. The others might not like the sprites, but I like it, Miu! Maybe it’s just different when you’re in a 3rd person POV vs 1st person POV?

I love it when Tsumugi goes off like the total fucking nerd she is.

DAMN WE’RE NOT EVEN ON A TROPICAL ISLAND AND PEOPLE ARE STILL GETTING BURNED

LEAVE K1-B0 ALONE KOKICHI JEEZ

So basically they’re leaving the door open for someone to be killed in here. I figured that would be the case...

Kaito is pretty quick on understanding too which I appreciate, considering how they’ve been playing up his ‘brash dumb’ character type up lately.

You are way too happy about that.

Though it also means that if someone dies in here, we’re not going to see any marks left on the body in the real world or here? That’s not good either!

Yeah, that’s... honestly what I’d like to know. Seriously, wouldn’t Miu have found it when recoding everything if it was in here already? And if she did, why wouldn’t she tell them?

I’m telling you, Tsumugi being a snobby nerd will never get old to me. You know she’s got a N64, Super Nintendo, and maybe even older consoles like Atari and Dreamcast tucked away somewhere!

It’s funny - Kokichi doesn’t reference games nearly as much as Tsumugi, but he’s clearly a gamer too. Makes sense I suppose - I always think of a chessboard when I look at his scarf.

I’m sure this info will come in handy, but not sure how yet. 

THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE IMPORTANT FOR GONTA-RELATED REASONS

NO DAMN IT STOP DEATHFLAGGING HIM BY NEUTRALIZING HIS ADVANTAGES DAMN IT

This... really sounds like they’re setting up the rules for a murder mystery game...

Maki made an interesting note about the game - when you take physical advantage away and talent in general, it’ll completely change how a killing game would potentially go down. But I mean... wouldn’t that just be battle royal-type slaughter? Not that any kind of killing game can be considered ‘elegant’, but I can’t help but wonder why a brutal option like this is available at all..

Also can I just say the remixed music and the cute little noises when they waddle around... I love this. I love this, guys. Also watching Shuichi run is hilarious tbh.

A wild rarepair Kaito x Tsumugi appears???

I’m telling you, we’re going to be seeing more of everyone’s genuine emotions on their face here! Man, I’m really liking this set up already.

Kokichi is desperate to ship Kaito with anyone other than Shuichi so he can have Mr Detective all to himself

I think it means he falls for Kokichi’s verbal bait way too easily. 8′D But hey, Tsumugi doesn’t seem to be against Kaito’s interest! Not... obviously, anyway. just gonna casually that pairing to the question mark pile...

Yeah, that’s a pretty classic Kokichi move and... that’s... also a really bad idea. Maybe this is a good chance for Shuichi to get to know him in the context of the game as opposed to FTEs?

Okay, is it just me or is he trying to piss Kaito off especially right now??

NO GONTA YOU’RE TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD AND THE ABSOLUTE WRONG CHOICE TO WATCH KOKICHI

fml if Kokichi gets Gonta killed which is where I feel like this is going I will be so upset - but I feel like Kokichi won’t do it himself??? Maybe someone attacks Kokichi and Gonta puts himself in harm’s way instead and dies instead? Like, Kokichi is basically turning Gonta into a goon of his, and we all know what happens in movies and games to the henchmen of ‘Supreme Leaders’...

Honestly guys, how soon do we forget? Are we really going to let them go off together like this? The Bug Meet-and-Greet was literally just a week ago! I know a lot has happened since then, but still!

I do like that both Maki (not included) and Kaito caught on that Kokichi pulled that trick on purpose to have Gonta with him - I just wish they followed up!

On the other hand, we could just as easily get Tsumugi murdering Miu lmao. I’m telling you, if Miu shows up dead...

I didn’t need this in here but I kept it because he’s adorable like this

SHIT THAT’S RIGHT THAT’S HOW MY DOG REACTS WHENEVER HE JUMPS IN THE SNOW I-I mean don’t call Kaito a dog, Maki! That’s not very nice even if it is accurate

Man, I’m starting to wonder if Tsumugi is going to kill Miu here for real 8′D

Always a ray of sunshine, our Sweetcheeks. I’m leaning towards them having some sort of incident happen by the end of this, if not an outright murder. They’re talking too much about how the brain and senses experiencing ‘death’ and causing the body to follow suit for them not to do anything with it. I mean, I guess the exception would be if it’s talking about an overall VR experience like the last game!

So the storage room is pretty much empty and the binoculars can only see as far as the line on the map which Miu is going to explain too. Man, the more things get set up, the more convinced I am that someone isn’t going to make it to the end of the chapter...

Next K1-b0 has an interesting bit of dialogue about how there’s nothing beyond the walls of this world, and how it makes him think about the academy walls. Which... again, I think is leaning towards an apocalyptic world/space scenario? It certainly seems that way to me. It’s interesting to have him point it out though, for some reason. 8′D

I’m 99% sure that’s her default setting, but okay.

weird tangents like this is why I love shuichi

It’s like, a legitimate thing to fixate on and worry about and I totally relate to it but at the same time I’m sure he recognizes how ridiculous it sounds in his head

Isn’t that you? 8′D

oMFG WH A T

WHY ARE YOU DOING HIM WRONG LIKE THIS MIU

MAKI NO I THOUGHT YOUR ROASTING DAYS WERE FINALLY BEHIND YOU

HIMIKO I THOUGHT WE WERE BONDING EARLIER

WE WERE BONDING DAMN IT

I’m shocked that the sprite is able to capture the absolute betrayal on it face but somehow, it does

whispers this is getting its own special post

“Look at my glorious self, doing you the favour of allowing you to prostrate yourself in front of all your classmates!”

Miu you’re making a lot of enemies this chapter, including the sub (lol) protagonist. We've already had one first POV murder - do we really want another one?

That’s going to go missing at some point. If the murder happens, maybe the murderer will grab it and hide it or something?

"Oh, I’ve been lurking here for a while! But I needed some time to come up with my best masochist!Shuichi jokes and lines. You’re not going to hear the end of this for a long time, Masoichi Subhara!”

... or that. could be that too.

Hm, so I guess it’s on the other side of the map. It would be one thing of Kokichi is by himself but Gonta is with him and I trust him way farther than I’d be able to throw him and Kokichi for that matter

KAITO NO YOU’RE MAKING THINGS WORSE

OMFG SHUICHI IS JUST A COMPLETE WRECK AFTER WHAT JUST HAPPENED

And you know Kokichi is totally trying to figure out what he missed, and why all the other classmates are giving the two of them weird looks/snickering...

Oh, and now we’re finally getting to the line shown in the map.

Kokichi are you just trying to cash in some Saiouma chips because you realize how much Saimota happened when you were away with Gonta? 8′D 

H-Hey don’t look at me, look at Miu! She started it!

Okay at this point I will be shocked if there isn’t a murder here or some sort of incident causing a murder in the real world.

Also Kokichi you’re way too happy about this...

What are you playing at here man???

And you! Shouldn’t you know where it is since you reprogrammed the whole thing?!?!

Miu and Kokichi are conspiring about something??? Again???

Please don’t fall for it...

..... Yikes. 8′D I-I’ll give it to him because I have a feeling his failing health and the events of last chapter regarding the occult probably have him feeling emasculated.

Yeah, seriously. So Kaito is on the roof, Kokichi is in the salon and... free for all for everything else. Uh, okay....?

IF GONTA FUCKING TURNS UP DEAD KOKICHI I SWEAR I WILL DUEL YOU IN A SHADOW GAME MYSELF duel links has upped my skill somewhat I should be able to hold my own...

Thank goodness for Tsumugi’s odd affinity for Gonta oTL

a) Maybe this is the chance for us to get to know Tsumugi a little better in-game since we’re going to explore the rest of the mansion together

b) Kaito really has no bloody idea how he and Shuichi’s relationship comes off to the rest of their classmates (or maybe he does and he’s a-okay with it)

c) MAKI...... 

oh no

THAT’S.... NOT..... QUITE IT.....

nothing like the sting of figuring out you’re third-wheeling 

This is in no way the game trying to establish groups and/or alibis. Got it.

Left side: Kokichi, Gonta, Kaito, Shuichi, Tsumugi

Right side: Miu, Himiko, Maki, K1-b0. Alright, good to know.

I really don’t need this to be here but the fact that Kaito is so woefully oblivious and also apparently just... completely into Maki as a friend only is  hilarious to me. I mean, maybe the game will push more romantic feelings on his side in the last chapter but he’s just coming off as so gung-ho about their friendship without taking it to the next level - it’s just.... so refreshing...

It’s nice to see Kaede always being in his thoughts outside of general ‘I must do this for Kaede! Inspiration via manpain!’ stuff.

FUCK YES I THINK I’M RIGHT ABOUT THE ESCAPISM SECONDARY THEME we’re finally bringing it up in nearly identical words again! sorry tsumugi things aren’t looking good for you mastermind-wise

With that said, of all people, she dismisses it herself. 8′D Maybe if the game had better graphics engine - would that be good enough for you princess???

DANGANRONPA YOU ARE DANCING ON A KNIFE’S EDGE RIGHT NOW

Man I keep dancing back and forth between the idea of her being a victim this chapter and a killer and I just... can’t... decide on one. Ugh. The only thing that keeps me from thinking she’ll be a victim is having Gonta right there, raising just as many death flags as her. I-I guess we’ll find out shortly anyway...

Meanwhile while I ramble, K1-b0 has Priorities

[kibahinatas]

DRV3 Liveblog [BLIND]: Ch. 2 Daily Life

A THIN LINE DIVIDES HEAVEN AND HELL...

Okay, I’ve played chapter two up until the discovery of the body, just like last time.

Remember, if you want to skip the summary just look for Thoughts under Story.

STORY

The chapter opened on a shot of two rows of those Japanese style “death portraits.” (I’m sorry I don’t know the proper name.) But the only one with a photo in it contained a portrait of Kaede. Just, Kaede too, not Amami who is also dead...Anyway, there were some people talking off screen about how they wished “they” had lived. And stuff like that. Then the scene ends.

Next, there’s a scene of Gonta outside and he thinks he might have spotted a tiny bug in the grass. But when he goes to look at it, he finds a flat, square stone on the ground with the words “horse a” written there. He later discusses this briefly with the others in the dining hall, and then it’s never brought up again. Hm.

Finally, we wake up the day after Kaede’s trial as Shuichi. His room is almost identical to hers, except for the shelf of my Monokuma collection next to his bed. Kaito rings the doorbell and comes to fetch us for breakfast. Shuichi pauses before he leaves, but then says he doesn’t need that anymore.

When we arrive in the dining hall, everyone seems surprised by my appearance. Surprise, surprise (except not) Shuichi is no longer wearing his hat, and was hiding a cute ahoge under there! After a quick discussion about the mysterious “horse a,” Monokuma and the four Monokubs show up with gifts for us - some random trash.

Turns out the random trash actually helps us to uncover new areas that were hidden behind false walls (including the 3rd floor), overgrown ivy, and to unlock that weird castle wall place. We find several new research labs for Himiko, Kirumi, Gonta, Ryoma, and Maki (although she won’t let us inside.) There’s also an indoor pool, and inside the “castle walls” are a large casino and a hotel that seems to have no function yet - the Kumasutra..lol.

In one of the hallways we come across something that stands out above all the rest, though. A massive treasure chest containing a single item that appears to be a flashlight of sorts. We all gather to inspect it in the gym, and Monokuma appears to inform us that it is a special light which will restore some of our memories! After some debate, we decide to try it out. Suddenly, Shuichi, and everyone else, remembers the Ultimate Hunt! They remember being hunted because of their ultimate talents, and eventually deciding to use a device which would repress their memories of being ultimates, causing them to believe they were just normal high school students, much like when we began the game. We got to see a shot of Shuichi hooked up to this device, and it turns out it is the same one we had gotten a glimpse of Kaede in during the prologue.

Later, during the night, the Monokubs sneak into our room to drop something off, but since they can’t see in the dark, they worry they might get things mixed up. The next morning, we find a colorful Kubs Pad on our coffee table, similar to the Monopad. But this one contains a single video. Monokuma announces he’s bringing back “an old favorite:” personal motive videos of loved ones! However, the Monokubs did indeed mix things up as Shuichi receives Kaito’s video of his grandparents instead of his own.

Shuichi rushes around trying to find Kaito, and ends up meeting everyone in the dining hall. They soon decide it would be best to not exchange videos, so no one will have a motive to kill. Although, not everyone feels this way.

Kokichi strongly believes we should show each other our motives. He ends up roping the gullible Gonta into a scheme to achieve this, but it doesn’t quite go as planned. (Also at some point in between all this we do push-ups with Kaito one night, lol.) Kokichi gets Gonta all fired up to retrieve everyone who hates bugs, so they can come meet all the bugs in Gonta’s lab. Once we are all there (Shuichi, Tenko, Himiko, Angie, Kiyo, and Kibo, I believe), Kokichi leaves us with Gonta while he goes to fetch our Kubs Pads. Gonta releases an ungodly amount of bugs, while everyone is flipping their shit. Oblivious to how we’re all feeling Gonta seems pleased with how the Insect Meet and Greet is going.

When Kokichi finally returns with the Kubs Pads, before he can force us to start binge watching, we decide to let Gonta know he’s being used for Kokichi’s scheme. Kibo reveals that he has an audio tape recording function, which he rewinds to play Kokichi’s words for Gonta. Upset upon hearing this, Gonta makes Kokichi stay with him and the bugs while the rest of us leave, hearing Kokichi screaming in the distance, lol.

Meanwhile, Angie, and her new religious convert Himiko (much to the dismay of Tenko), have been planning a magic show. It’s planned to go on the morning after the whole Insect Meet and Greet fiasco. We gather in the gym, to see an elaborate setup for the show, although not everyone is present. Kokichi, Ryoma, Maki, and Kaito are nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, the show must go on! Angie and Himiko explain how the trick will work. Himiko will jump into a tank of water, and escape in one minute. Once the time is up, a suspended tank of piranhas will be dumped into the tank below. Seems simple enough, especially since it will all take place behind a curtain, and Himiko is not restrained in anyway.

The trick begins, and as seconds tick by on the timer, Himiko does not emerge. We all begin to worry, while Angie assures us all is well. But Gonta can’t wait any longer and leaps up on to the tank. He peers down into the water, with a surprised look on his face, and then time is up. The curtain is pulled back just before the piranha tanks is released, and floating inside the lower tank is...Ryoma! Handcuffed and unconscious or even dead. But the mystery of whether or not he is dead doesn’t last long, as the piranhas are dropped in, consuming his entire body down to the bones.

THOUGHTS: ‘Noooo!’ Was my reaction to seeing Ryoma’s body in the tank. I actually liked him a lot, so seeing him die so early was a disappointment.

Anyway, setting aside the “death portraits” for now, what is up with that “horse a” thing? Is it relevant? I feel like it’s got to be later, but it got brushed off so quickly. And what does it mean? I feel like there’s a secret meaning. Perhaps related to those random letters on the castley gate? Hm.

When Shuichi alluded to leaving his hat behind, I remember saying to my boyfriend how I bet it’s his hat and that he’s got a secret protagonist ahoge he’s been hiding this whole time! To my amusement, but not my surprise, I was right lol. What’s a Dangan Ronpa protagonist without an ahoge after all? Even our “secret protagonist” Shuichi, and “false protagonist” Kibo (in reference to the early promos) have one!

The way they did the new areas was interesting. How they were all spread out across the campus and not just one big central area. I enjoyed that. I also liked that we are getting to see most everyone’s research labs, slowly. (Thinking back I never tried going inside Miu’s though, I’ll have to do that later.) Except for Maki, who won’t let us inside for some strange reason...I almost wonder if she’s hiding something. No, I don’t wonder, I pretty much know she has to be hiding something. Like I mentioned back in my prologue post, I have a suspicion she may be lying about her talent. If her research lab is for a completely different talent she doesn’t want us knowing about, it would make sense she wouldn’t let anyone inside!

It was interesting to see a repeat motive, but of course in typical DR fashion, Monokuma made sure to point out that he was doing so, lol. However having everyone (or most everyone, we don’t know who received which video yet) receive someone else’s video was an interesting twist!

There seemed to be a lot of focus on Kaito this chapter too. Having his motive video, him inviting Shuichi to work out that one night, etc. The one line about Shuichi not realizing at that point how “horrific it is to trust someone” was very interesting. It would seem that this is in reference to Kaito, but we can’t be certain yet. My boyfriend suspects that all the Kaito business may be a red herring, but I’m not ruling him out as suspicious just yet.

But my favorite part of the chapter had to be the Insect Meet and Greet. Oh man, what a great scene. It was really funny, but I think will still be important to this next case in some ways. Gonta is a gift.

As for the murder, I can’t say a lot at this point! For whatever reason my gut reaction was again to suspect Tenko. I guess she’s my Souda of this game, although I actually liked him and hated suspecting him every time - Tenko I’m not super fond of lol. Also Kirumi, since we spent a lot of time on how much the other students are relying on her I feel like she might break soon. Also it’s just a hunch. And then Angie, who was involved in the magic show and also bonded with Himiko. If I’ve learned anything from Dangan Ronpa, it’s don’t get too close to anyone, it will just assure that only one of you will make it out alive lol. Not to mention the chapter title is suspicious given her religious enthusiasm...

But no idea how the killer did it and/or got Ryoma’s body in the tank! With little to go on I’m super excited to start investigating next time. I did make a joke though, how it’s like the show Bones - because all we have is his skeleton. And we have an anthropologist with us (Kiyo/Bones), someone who solves mysteries/crimes (Shuichi/Booth), a bug and nature guy (Gonta/Hodgins), and an artist (Angie/Angela) haha.

GAMEPLAY

Aside from free time, there’s really only one other thing I want to talk about here. Everything else is pretty much the same as before.

A new element that’s been added this chapter is the casino! We can exchange our monocoind for special casino coins and play games to win more special coins, which we can then use to exchange for prizes. Sounds confusing but it’s actually quite simple. I was able to get a decent of amount of coins for a low amount, and used those to play the slot machine and salmon fishing, the only two available games as of now.

I won a few hundred coins on the slot machine, but only made a couple salmon fishing. The salmon fishing works in a similar way to the hangman’s gambit of this game, with the things you need to select being hidden in shadow and then illuminated briefly. I think if I remember where the fish are without waiting for the light, I can win more coins. So I’ll have to try that again later.

Then for Free Time, I got 5 events, and I think it would have been 6 if I didn’t do an optional scene, which I’ll get to at the end. I spent Free Time with Himiko, Kirumi x2, Kibo, and Kokichi. Something I found interesting though, was that all the characters I talked to as Kaede didn’t carry over. Meaning, I no longer had a hope fragment for them or the information I learned there. As Amami and Ryoma are no longer with us, this was kind of a bummer since I won’t get to look back on that now. At least I have the memory I guess, lol.

Now it’s been about a week between playing and writing this section of my post, so I can’t quite remember what all I talked about with them. I do remember that Kirumi still wasn’t really saying much about herself, even in two FTEs. She mostly talked about places she’d worked and whatnot. I spent time with her twice because I really wanted to get to know who she was as a person, and not just as a maid. Hopefully she’s not the culprit this time, so I can still get a chance to do so lol. I also vaguely remember talking to Kokichi about his organization, and how he has powerful connections or something like that. But that’s about it.

But, on to the bonus scene. So before breakfast, on the day before the magic show, I happened to go talk to Miu in the courtyard, and she invited me to join her in the casino later that day. Of course, I chose yes. So when free time rolled around, I automatically travelled to the casino, where I was joined by Miu, Ryoma, Kaito, and Kokichi. We then got a light, fun scene where we all played casino games, and watched as Kaito continually lost to Ryoma, lol. I enjoyed it a lot.

One last thing I wanted to note is that I haven’t seen any more hidden Monokumas around! Just how hidden are these things? The two I found last chapter were impossible to miss. So I wonder where they’re at. I feel like I haven’t overlooked anything so I don’t know!

CHARACTERS

Like I said before it’s been a while since I played, so I’m having trouble remembering what all I wanted to say about the characters. I have a note that I wanted to talk about Kokichi, Kaito, Ryoma, Kirumi, Maki, and Kibo, but I can't remember what I had to say about them. I know I wanted to mention Ryoma sadly looking out over the tennis court in his lab, and Maki being a mysterious shit for no reason. (What are you hiding!) And maybe comment some more on Kaito and his grandparents and just him in general. But oh well, I’m sorry guys! I’ll try to be better about this with chapter 3 instead of putting it off so long, lol.

PREDICTIONS

Okay, so a final prediction to close with.

Another one of my reaching predictions, but the scene at the very beginning of the chapter got me thinking. I wonder if this is going to be like the sequel to my fanstory that I had planned, in which the twist is that all the characters are actually “dead” and the people who have been participating in the killing game are clones of those people who have been implanted with their memories.

Now, I actually hope this is not the case as I really want to use this idea for said fanstory, lol, but it would be interesting nonetheless. I don’t have any other evidence supporting this right now though, so I’ll have to see how things progress before saying more!

[chromemuffin]

Shoukoku no Altair Liveblog (Chapter 6)

The first volume was a wild ride filled with more gorgeous art than I had room to gush about.

Let me just say that I love the color palettes used in these covers. Although I don’t really have a good sense for color balance, none of the elements of these extremely detailed and busy covers seem to clash with one another.

There is just so much going on here, even the dark blue sash around his midsection has detailing. The collar, cuffs, and shoes have a really nice flower/vine motif going on, and interestingly there is a lock and key hanging off the shirt collar (which is made to look like an actual collar). Then there is that tassel (how do you even draw knots like that), and the ones crossing his chest. I also like the little flower buttons going up the sleeves?

idk let’s move on.

I have run out of Japanese raws, which is a good thing. Cuts down on my language ramblings a bit. 

Chapter 6: The Council of Generals

We start the volume off with a portrait of Zaganos walking like a badass. Lots of thorns on the frame, and one exits the frame to become that dangly...thing in the back with the eyes and idk I really need to know more about Turkish designs to say anything. I did notice a flower and moon charm thing in the back.

So, first we get a review and additional information about the Diwan, which is nice. This series has a good balance of breaking away to ramble about the world’s structure before going back to the action with our main characters.

Anyway, I love Kato’s attention to detail (have I mentioned that already lol) that extends even to background characters. We never got the name of any of the Araba characters, yet they each looked distinct from one another. Same with the other pasha (there are 42 in all, wow). There’s a good range of features (especially nose shapes, here), but even their clothes and chins are different.

Assuming this is the head-honcho, the buyuk pasha (are these titles capitalized...?) who has glorious facial hair and a very, very large turban.

Oh god, this post is going to be so long. These panels are all really tall.

“And most important of all, military and foreign policy, which are handled by the third convention and decided by a unanimous vote between the 30 vizers.” In case you can’t see it in that image. Interesting how the most ‘important’ section is the only one in the dark, so to say. As we’ve seen, foreign policy and the potential for military action can be a very shade business.

I shrink every image to fit the theme I’m using, just in case it gets wonky if the picture is too large, but it so does not do this shot justice. Just look at the architecture! @the-golden-city has several posts picking apart these tiny details throughout the series, although I haven’t gotten around to reading all of them because for once I want to avoid spoilers.

This hall/chamber is probably based off this real life building in Istanbul:

Even the chandelier, and the railings, match. Getting back to Altair, though,  I vaguely see Zaganos, Mahmut, and Ibrahim at the far right.

Ok, so they are asking why Ibrahim left Hisar for Altin in the first place, which I had almost forgotten about by this point.

Huh, I had to go back to the second chapter. Didn’t quite remember that Zaganos had told everyone to meet up to exchange information.

Whoops, gut reaction there. Why is he so surprised though...? Ibrahim told him why they were called to Altin, so was it that last bit “In regards to that case, I can’t call it anything but recklessness” that shocked him?

Also, add another intimidating face to the cast. The Buyuk Pasha (have a feeling “Pasha” should be in caps) is definitely a guy you do not want to cross.

Lol 

“Mahmut Pasha, quiet, we did not give you permission to speak.” 

“Ok next matter of business.”

“Mahmut Pasha, your turn.”

Oh? I meant to speculate about the aftermath in my last liveblog, but ended up forgetting (chapter 5 was a long one, I was exhausted by the end). We don’t actually know how much time has passed between now and the uprising, only that it’s no longer the month of Seker.

...Are you capable of smiling (without smirking). He is very displeased, yet again.

That splotch of blood. o.o He got stabbed last chapter and is still up and about. You really need to get that patched up, Mahmut. On the next page he’s actually holding his left arm up to it, so.

I’M SO GLAD NO ONE ENDED UP DYING. Seems they may not be out of the water yet, though, with the council deliberating as to their fates.

His mood instantly switches here, from happy/relieved that his friend and his family are safe, to serious. While Ibrahim says it with a smile on his face in front of his kids, he and Mahmut realize that it’s not over yet.

He realizes his own limits here. Things seemed sort of bleak before, but that was nothing compared to what happens after.

Dude doesn’t even bother giving him a real answer. You could confirm or deny, you know, instead of being like that. Though I guess he figures it doesn’t matter at this point, which is true. Or he just likes being mysterious.

I bet Zaganos’s expression would be the same if they had announced the opposite result. I sort of guessed that he’d be let off, but I still breathed a sigh of relief when they reinstated him. I’m weak, ok.

Anyway, more Mahmut expressions! Shocked makes him look younger than he is, and serious makes him more mature. I like how, well, mature he is. These are high stakes, and he knows the severity of the situation well.

Aww look at his shell-shocked face. I guess Mahmut really guessed/feared that they wouldn’t forgive what Ibrahim had done. From the standpoint of someone in their universe though, the result they got must have been very unlikely.

He held it together until he left! In isolation, that face looks a little derpy though.

AW. I needed that. I always love it when that chain with the tassel and (don’t know if it’s a whistle haha that thing) are drawn. And the asymmetry of his outfits. I think I mentioned that in my first liveblog. I usually do not like asymmetrical designs much, but.

And this! This look of unease. I have a baaad feeling about this.

Mahmut’s thought process is fun to read.

HAHA WHAT. WHAT. 

WELL. First, you’ve gotta appreciate this extreme, divine irony going on where the sun is shining on him full force, and yet he’s lost so much in this single instant.

AND THEN. Well, I guess his demotion has to do with the whole war thing. It seems a good portion of them want to go to war, and up until this moment Mahmut has had the initiative and position to resist that. Just because he was younger didn’t mean he had less power as a pasha, but if he no longer has that title...

He’s too stunned to even be sad that his dream, which he had just achieved, was snatched away like that.

But lol at least the council is clear in their intentions: “Please think of it as a sort of permanent house arrest.”

This shot of him walking away...

Talk about a tough position to be in. He was punished the most, even though he did the most to resolve the situation. He’s happy that his friend wasn’t executed, but this is the price.

I love these shots of his front in darkness, with his back to the light. IT’S ALSO REALLY SAD.

As shitty as it is, Halil does have a point. And he prefaces saying this with a “Mah-kun”, so you know he really means it. He clearly cares for this boy, and it’s probably not easy seeing him crash so hard, but Mahmut was simply too young and inexperienced for the position he held. His thought process is getting there in some aspects, but in others he hasn’t experienced enough about the complexities of the world around him. He knows what he wants to change, but not how to do it.

I wonder why they bothered making him a pasha so young, anyway. Turkiye hasn’t gone to war since he was young, so he doesn’t have experience in that, either.

It’s probably even more painful because everything Halil is saying is true. It wasn’t a malicious decision. His look here is like a mix of devastated and a quiet sort of revelation. Like: “....oh.”

Then why did you guys freaking promote him to pasha in the first place. Just saying. But, now it’s out.

Weeelll, at least you’re not banned for life.

God I love this kid so much. He was indignant before he started talking to Halil, but now he realizes the gravity of what he has done. He’s not stubbornly rejecting or acting out against that logic, he’s mature enough to own up to his mistake.

And now...

This is a terrifying “oh shit” moment. He realizes here just how much his mistake has cost him, and not just him, but the country. He has no power to do prevent a war now that he got himself kicked out, essentially. If he’d stayed a pasha, maybe he’d be able to exert enough influence to alter events.

But his expression here as he realizing this is really good.

WHY IS EVERYTHING SAD BASKING IN THE LIGHT OF A THOUSAND SUNS.

Zaganos is heeere. Never know how things are going to go with him around.

HAHAHA. Oh, Zaganos. “I made a mistake and your impulsivity somehow helped me out of it. (thanks I guess) But what you did was still stupid as hell.” That was such backhanded compliments/acknowledgment that you might as well not have said anything at all aside from “That was stupid.”

Oh? You’re actually giving him something?

It’s something useful! I love the little details on this bauble. The intricate knot, the little crescent moon.

Wait, don’t blow up and get angry, I want to know why he’s entrusting this thing to you.

So Zaganos did indeed know and let everything proceed, all of this just to make one very strong point to the council. Geez.

Mahmut, you look so tiny next to him.

This is why I love this kid as a protagonist already. He is intelligent, smart, and hard-working, but he isn’t infallible. Youthful arrogance and inexperience was his downfall. It doesn’t even seem like youthful arrogance while you’re experiencing he situation in Hisar with him. He’s the protagonist, and you know he’s right in that he couldn’t just leave Ibrahim to go down for a crime he didn’t willingly commit.

But, now that he’s realized it, he also acknowledges that it’s pointless to dwell on it and beat himself up. And in that sense, we can see he’s already grown from how he was as a child. Then, he lost hope that he could ever improve and needed Ibrahim to talk him out of his tears.

What Ibrahim gave him is actually really precious, I’m dying here ok, he made Mahmut realize that if he works hard at it, improves himself, he can achieve his dream. Now he knows that he’s just going to need more effort than he thought.

He gets frustrated a lot, and it usually seems to be about himself. I feel bad for him, but on the other hand, like when he got knocked off his horse in cirit and the older guy admonished him, he really needed it.

It didn’t take him long, not even a full day it looks like, to bounce back and resolve himself on a new goal. Seems like his journey has gone a little backwards (don’t protags in manga usually work their way up from rock bottom; Mahmut had one of the highest positions in the country after coming from the bottom up, and now he has to do it again).

This has been a sort of transition chapter (I wouldn’t call it quiet), but by god did it have impact.

← back・onward →