#extracted images

[kommabortsig]

Esther_Fisher_(page_71_crop).jpg

[rayroseu]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[earlywintermourning]

that old lady and her damn vanilla extract

[mxnordberg]

HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE?

[boxheadpaint]

ahhh I forgot about ableism. I forgot about that

[theholmwoodfoundation]

As suggested in our last post, here's a script excerpt from one of the upcoming episodes of The Holmwood Foundation, which will feature Tom Van Helsing.

Last week was the birthday of his actor, the lovely Basil, so please join us in wishing him a happy birthday!

[wisteriagoesvroom]

the mclaren content piece delving into oscar’s calmness is smart scene-setting ahead of the US races imo

[glassofpumpkinjuice]

images of the day :)

[ilovejustinherbert]

[99orphans]

everyone is going to see this really cool picture of Neptune if i use the right tags

now that i have you here:

blue collar workers, fast food workers, service industry, retail employees, everyone who is overworked and underpaid

11/5/24

We hold the power of the world in our hands. They depend on us, but show us none of the gratitude.

Why do the top 10% of people make 90% of the money? That's not a fair system, none of this is right.

11/5/24

We all know it sucks, but we're still just dealing with it. The 2020's have been full of orchestrated plans made by the government and elite, why don't we make some of our own? We might not have the money, but we have the supplies.

It's time we show them that we're not gonna take it. It's time to bring back punk rock in a very tangible way.

11/5/24

This November 5 (because it has to be, obviously) no one go in to work. They can't fire us all. Cities will shut down entirely and they will realize how necessary we are and how seriously to take us. It won't take much.

Then, we compile our resources. We share what we can give. You work in a store and someone wants something for free? Let them have it. This product seems to be defective, guess i gotta "throw it away."

Remember remember the fifth of november

There's enough of us for real change. Forget the electoral colleges, screw capitalism and everything it stands for. Get as many forks as you can, because we're going to EAT THE RICH

and here's the Eagle Nebula so Tumblr knows this is an astronomy post

p.s. to all grocery store workers:

you didn't see us stealing

[meirimerens]

i'm putting together a folder of set designs for the named kids + some NPCs variations so i can reuse them and i'm kinda intrigued by dandy's hair. i'm trying to figure out what it's reminding me of.

[ammonitetestpatterns]

ryuko tsushin, january 1999.

[tarnussy]

Godrick's cape / banner for @wanderingmausoleum

[dark-orca-dynasty]

I managed to extract the covers from my digital copy of the comic! I have the omnibus version, with all six issues.

I have to say, I think Jorge Corona's variant is my favourite. Kaiko looks so delightfully deranged. And Ant looks just like his mum <3.

[cuties-in-codices]

i just hit 1,500 followers on this blog! thank you all so much!! i never expected this kind of response when i started my lil medieval illuminations blog a few months ago and it means more to me than you know.

to celebrate, here's something a bit different for once -- a poem by Alejandra Pizarnik that contains the quote that i've always used as a kind of motto on my blog. the english translation is by Yvette Siegert, published in Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962-1972

[werebutch]

Nobody wants oyster imagery they only want the pearl (isn’t that something..) but isn’t gently and carefully having your pearl extracted but still killing you in the process something. Isn’t it something at least. Come on. I know some oysters won’t die and some farmers will keep extracting pearls but isn’t that something too.. come onnnnnn man