#i have so much respect for background artists

[celestialscribbler]

Hi what do you think Gravesfield looked like in the 1600s? Wanna se if you can draw ìt

I hope this doesn't come across as mean spirited, I appreciate the ask but backgrounds are the bane of my existence. This is the lineart for the 1600s Gravesfeild from the first page of my comic, I literally just took the one from for the future and tried to make it more sparse. I've been to colonial Williamsburg and one impression I got was that the buildings were spaced out really far.

[drykoolaid]

Happy technically the 23rd 🎉

Have screenshots

(No I will not be giving u the ogs) <3

Holy shit my back hurts

BUTTT TIS THE TIMEEE

RAHHHHH

Also have a N Wip that I’m def not finishing anytime soon

[sendmyresignation]

getting to the point where im going to have to start listening to interview podcasts and i have never felt such dread doing research for fun. 1 hour rambling nonsense with horrible questions. why.

[todayisafridaynight]

I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Plot aside, I'd forgotten just how charming the animation of Lupin Zero is

[shapelytimber]

Ok hear me out.......... wlw Wilhuff Tarkin and Orson Krennic-

the dynamic very much is unhinged creative vs rigid control freak in a context of evil bureaucracy- and personally the context is why I love to read stories with imperials jdjdkd nothing is more crack cocaine literature for me than to make drama in a space office filled with awful people

More flavor text and me trying to sell you on why this ship of two truly terrible people is great below vvv

For Krennic, lean more into the evil genius artist. She's been up for 46 hours straight drawing schematics, she's rambling about incomprehensible shit, her only meals have been cigarettes and energy drinks, she's so full of herself she might one day think she's god, she's gonna die by 60. She doesn't care much about the politics of the empire, but they don't bother her either. She works for the imperials because they have a lot funds to give to engineers willing to build them a battle station the size of a moon capable of blowing up planets. Before that she worked on a lot a architectures on imperial center/Coruscant.

The imperial uniforms are a bit boring- so I'm taking full advantage of the fact Krennic is more of an engineer/architect to tweak her uniform a bit (and the cape was already not respecting regulations sooooo) For Tarkin I'm keeping it tho, this woman won't be caught dead without it.

For Tarkin, lean less into the whole buff survivalist aspect- she very much was in her youth, but she *is* a 65 year old woman based on *Peter Cushing*, and has been in a very high and prestigious position within the empire for the past 20 years. She still as an extensive knowledge on how to survive in nature, and fight with her bare hands or a knife, but that doesn't come up very often in her line of work anymore. She still killed a space bear unharmed when she was like 17 tho. She hates chaos and developed the main philosophy that drove the empire to this day : to govern with fear and impose order. She is a bloodthirsty woman in her sixties, with a never ending hunger for power, currently cheating on her wife with a coworker she hates.

They both love the death star more than they tolerate each other, but they did end up bonding over plotting the demise of one coworker they couldn't stand and digging out rebel spies. Make no mistake tho, this is very much a love triangle/trouple between two women and a giant battle station.

In the end, Tarkin killed Krennic by shooting her from orbit with the death star, the project was finally finished, she didn't need her anymore and she might have gotten in the way of her control of the station.

Tarkin dies a few days later during the battle of Yavin, along the death star, not willing to back down in her moments of glory.

PS : a lot of this is inspired by the fic "Propagating structure" by oneinspats ! it's what made me like and understand this pairing, and is truly a great work of fiction. I really think this fic is a masterful work when it comes to expending the character of Krennic, and extrapolating on existing things. Exploring his more creative side, his passion for his work, his truly abysmal lifestyle, giving him a hatred of nature and a background as an architect on Coruscant. While also keeping his horrific aspects, like reading his internal (or external) monologues sometimes makes my skin crawl with how disgusting his ideas are and how deep they run, but making him an interesting and compelling protag for the story. While all of it is surrounded by this delicious dramatic irony, because we know that no matter how hard they try to scheme (or fuck), the death star will blow up and it's incredible.

[daskolas]

Rahu and Ketu in houses

Rahu (north node) and Ketu (south node) are always in opposition. Whatever house they are in, they bring emptiness into it.

Rahu in 1st house/Ketu in 7th house

This position gives individuals a lot of wisdom. Here, the person is very clever and mysterious.

Native's priority is to earn fame, being people's first choice and to be successful. They try to achieve these things by hook or crook.

Native's focus is on themselves, their independence, to learn new years and to identify their purpose.

These people also get mature really young because of the hardships they had to face.

People with this placement usually have dental problems and may even some sort of chronic illness.

This placement makes a person different from others in a positive manner

This placement can manifest lots of loneliness in native's life but it also grants them the ability to explore their self

future spouse can be indecisive but they will give good advices

Individuals can face some problems in their married life IF they won't be able to have proper amount of freedom.

Many of people with this placement like to live in dark or may prefer slow songs.

Rahu in 2nd house/ Ketu in 8th house

people with this placement have a harsh tone

native with Rahu in 2nd house, try to earn money even if it is not in a conventional way. This placement makes people extremely materialistic.

they are also prone to addiction so try to stay away from things like smoking

Your life partner can be rich and you can inherit property from your in-laws.

they like to research about different things. Trying to get to know which isn't noticeable

They also live too much inside their head

This placement also grants you good intuition and someone who is a risk-taker especially when it comes to earning money

you will also face fast changes in your life whether it is of health or career

people with this placement have high will and also are very concentrated individuals

ADVICE: changes whether negative or positive are fine. They are extremely common. Even if you facing loss right now then you may earn profit tomorrow. Try to be good and faithful to yourself.

Rahu in 3rd house/Ketu in 9th house

The person is hardworking.

They also face issues related to throat.

This placement indicates a cooperative personality so these people are prone to help someone who doesn't want to improve themselves. "I can fix them" personality.

Natives with this placement will not get support from their younger siblings if they have

Things will get delayed in life such as marriage, having children, or even career.

this placement makes a person religious and someone who respects their teachers

Even though life can get difficult but people with this placement know how to handle whatever gets thrown their way.

People with this placement know a lot of things. In fact some people may even consider them "know-it-all".

They are also good with hands so might be a good artist or do calligraphy or might have beautiful hands

You can know how to express yourself really well

Rahu in 4th house/ Ketu in 10th house

A person with placement is very courageous.

Mother plays an important role in a person's whether it is because she influenced natives a lot or because she had no influence.

people with this placement have a hard time feeling satisfied.

People with this placement face many financial issues or there were many distractions due to which they were not able to complete their studies on time.

This placement indicates that the person can live abroad.

They are also constantly moving so living far away from their birthplace or even marrying someone with different background.

you might also have an obsession with having a fixed asset like having a house, car, land etc.

Have difficulty concentrating.

you might feel like you are not welcome anywhere but mainly have a hard time feeling like you belong somewhere.

lack patience, and want things fast.

Rahu in 5th house/ Ketu in 11th house

This placement is considered very neutral as Rahu is sitting in a triangular house so there will be positive sides as well.

This placement gives a lack of happiness and benefits either from the father or children. Some people can even have difficulties with having children.

You will also not have a good relationship with your elder brother if you have any.

This placement makes a person extremely social and someone who knows how to communicate.

natives here are very good with hands. So you may have skills such as art and craft, sculpting or even some healing techniques like reiki.

person's focus here is to learn new things. They are extremely curious and are also invested in creative aspects.

this placement also makes natives intelligent so they do very well in school and are also good at additional aspects.

You will also be able to do good or achieve success in the entertainment industry so maybe an actor, singer, dancer, etc.

You may get some problems with your undergraduate degree like maybe you took a break.

This placement also makes the native mischievous or someone very active or restless.

Rahu in 6th house/ Ketu in 12th house

people with this placement are believed to be old souls.

when a person becomes old, they become extremely religious and someone who does a lot of charity.

this placement is considered good as people always stand up for themselves and are not easily repressed.

However, you will often feel that you are not surrounded by people who want the best for you. It may or may not be true.

A person's focus is on health, self-improvement, and having rules for themselves, and is also on how to develop good habits to be the best version of oneself.

they are also mature and know what to do in any situation. They also have an idea of the world.

they have contact with foreign companies or you will form connections with people from foreign countries.

you will also fall ill easily. During Rahu/Ketu Mahadasha you will also not be able to get diagnosed properly.

you will get success only by doing a lot of hard work.

You will also not face any mishappening or something happening unexpectedly.

Rahu in 7th house/ Ketu in 1st house

You can have problems in your married life. This can be especially due to misunderstanding or you may have different personality from your future partner.

You can marry someone from a different culture or after getting married, you will become extremely focused on your growth and self-improvement.

This placement makes the native yearn romantic relationships when they are young. However, when they get older they start focusing on themselves.

If Rahu is not afflicted, then you will come only in serious relationships.

This placement makes the person indecisive or someone who sometimes face difficulty in understanding what is going on because of lack of mental presence but you will be very smart.

You will also be kind or someone who likes to help people but at the end of the day, you would want to be in touch with yourself.

You will also have natural talent for astrology and tarots. You will be deeply interested in spiritual aspect.

this placement makes person very successful and creative. They will also be surrounded by many people.

You will also easily able to tell what others are feeling and would help them a lot.

You will also want to be with yourself especially when you get older, you will try to understand deeper aspects of life.

Rahu in 8th house/ Ketu in 2nd house

People with this placement tend to be mysterious and secretive. Even if you tell things about yourself, people around you can feel like they don't know you much.

You can have problem with your voice. Like have a cough or people misunderstand you a lot or you may have badmouth.

You may also talk without thinking so think twice before saying anything to anyone especially when you are angry.

this placement makes someone who spends a lot of money. So saving money can be a problem. If that is not the scenario then there can be fluctuations in finances.

This placement also makes the person money-minded so natives can think about how to generate money a lot.

You may also have some unexplained fears like you may become fearful of many things even if you haven't had a bad experience with them.

People with this placement tend to be scared of animals when they are young but when they get older, they start to love them.

You will be understanding and calm a lot but are also prone to extreme outbursts or some heavy emotional experience.

This placement also makes the person good astrologer or you will definitely study astrology.

You will also research about many things. Or you will like learning about many things.

Rahu in 9th house/ Ketu in 3rd house

this placement indicates the person will settle in a foreign. And they will also be able to achieve most success when they are working abroad.

this placement also makes the natives travel a lot. However, you will start feeling dissatisfied and can feel that traveling brings you a lot of problems.

you can have a problem with your sibling. like a strained relationship even though you love them a lot and overprotectiveness.

You will also study a lot. You may even be inclined to get a PhD.

You will people a lot. So you may donate a lot or even start an NGO to help needy people.

You can also have a hard time saying No especially in financial matters so you may give money to whoever asked you but would never be able to ask them back.

You will also care a lot about nature. This placement makes the person ecocentric.

you will also tend to share your knowledge with people as soon as you learn about them.

You will also love taboo things. You can also start connecting with the higher self. Many people with this placement tend to be agnostic.

You may face delays in your life in some places so you can do certain things like live in a foreign country, try to do meditation and become more in tune with yourself or do not talk to people who are not treating you well. Learn to cut off people.

Rahu in 10th house/ Ketu in 4th house

The person is very clever.

Career will be progressing from short scale to big scale. Long-term growth.

They can also feel very stressed due to work only. The focus is on career.

Might not receive support from parents.

A person will be highly influenced by their father but can have a negative relationship with him.

This placement is an indicator of moving abroad.

people with this placement want to be in leadership positions and have a need to be powerful. Kind of like having it all.

natives with Rahu in 10th house do well in career where you can help people or where you can influence them.

people with this placement can gain benefits from the government whether it is in terms of job or anything.

you will constantly shift between wanting to be more spiritual or wanting to have money and power.

Rahu in 11th house/ Ketu in 5th house

people with this placement can feel unlucky at times. For example, if someone wants to start a business then suddenly you start having financial issues.

relationships will not be successful.

Person's entire focus is on completing their desire like being financially strong or having materialistic growth.

relationships with elder siblings will not be good.

People with this placement should start with a job as doing their business at the start can take a lot of time. So start with a job first then move towards business.

Person is very helpful and cooperative.

they also take care of their parents.

people with this placement gain lots of spiritual and philosophical knowledge from their parents.

you will be able to get more success working with people from foreign country or settling abroad.

people with this placement do not feel satisfied easily. Always wanting to achieve more and more.

Rahu in 12th house/ Ketu in 6th house

This placement is considered very good as this makes a person very successful.

This placement is the indicator for settling in a foreign country or working with people from a foreign country.

person has a desire to live alone or live a highly spiritual life.

Even though they desire to live a detached life, but at a young age they will live a fast-paced life but as they become old, they will live the life that they desire.

Person might also not care too much about their health or even daily life issues.

This placement gives people lots of difficulties but it also grants them the ability to overcome them.

They also spend a lot of money on things that they do not need or require.

you can have psychic dreams or dreams which are extremely imaginative which you might find weird.

You might not be close to your mother or there is some distance between you and your family members.

During Ketu Mahadasha, you might fall ill and not be able to be diagnosed properly.

[feminist-space]

"Artists have finally had enough with Meta’s predatory AI policies, but Meta’s loss is Cara’s gain. An artist-run, anti-AI social platform, Cara has grown from 40,000 to 650,000 users within the last week, catapulting it to the top of the App Store charts.

Instagram is a necessity for many artists, who use the platform to promote their work and solicit paying clients. But Meta is using public posts to train its generative AI systems, and only European users can opt out, since they’re protected by GDPR laws. Generative AI has become so front-and-center on Meta’s apps that artists reached their breaking point.

“When you put [AI] so much in their face, and then give them the option to opt out, but then increase the friction to opt out… I think that increases their anger level — like, okay now I’ve really had enough,” Jingna Zhang, a renowned photographer and founder of Cara, told TechCrunch.

Cara, which has both a web and mobile app, is like a combination of Instagram and X, but built specifically for artists. On your profile, you can host a portfolio of work, but you can also post updates to your feed like any other microblogging site.

Zhang is perfectly positioned to helm an artist-centric social network, where they can post without the risk of becoming part of a training dataset for AI. Zhang has fought on behalf of artists, recently winning an appeal in a Luxembourg court over a painter who copied one of her photographs, which she shot for Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam.

“Using a different medium was irrelevant. My work being ‘available online’ was irrelevant. Consent was necessary,” Zhang wrote on X.

Zhang and three other artists are also suing Google for allegedly using their copyrighted work to train Imagen, an AI image generator. She’s also a plaintiff in a similar lawsuit against Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt and Runway AI.

“Words can’t describe how dehumanizing it is to see my name used 20,000+ times in MidJourney,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “My life’s work and who I am���reduced to meaningless fodder for a commercial image slot machine.”

Artists are so resistant to AI because the training data behind many of these image generators includes their work without their consent. These models amass such a large swath of artwork by scraping the internet for images, without regard for whether or not those images are copyrighted. It’s a slap in the face for artists – not only are their jobs endangered by AI, but that same AI is often powered by their work.

“When it comes to art, unfortunately, we just come from a fundamentally different perspective and point of view, because on the tech side, you have this strong history of open source, and people are just thinking like, well, you put it out there, so it’s for people to use,” Zhang said. “For artists, it’s a part of our selves and our identity. I would not want my best friend to make a manipulation of my work without asking me. There’s a nuance to how we see things, but I don’t think people understand that the art we do is not a product.”

This commitment to protecting artists from copyright infringement extends to Cara, which partners with the University of Chicago’s Glaze project. By using Glaze, artists who manually apply Glaze to their work on Cara have an added layer of protection against being scraped for AI.

Other projects have also stepped up to defend artists. Spawning AI, an artist-led company, has created an API that allows artists to remove their work from popular datasets. But that opt-out only works if the companies that use those datasets honor artists’ requests. So far, HuggingFace and Stability have agreed to respect Spawning’s Do Not Train registry, but artists’ work cannot be retroactively removed from models that have already been trained.

“I think there is this clash between backgrounds and expectations on what we put on the internet,” Zhang said. “For artists, we want to share our work with the world. We put it online, and we don’t charge people to view this piece of work, but it doesn’t mean that we give up our copyright, or any ownership of our work.”"

Read the rest of the article here:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/06/a-social-app-for-creatives-cara-grew-from-40k-to-650k-users-in-a-week-because-artists-are-fed-up-with-metas-ai-policies/

[helluvaartcritique]

I think my issue with the designs in both HH and HB is that most of the characters feel overdesigned and has so much detail, but at the same time they don't stand out. So many characters share the same color palate as the background and it makes frames feel busy, making it hard to focus on what is really happening. I saw a screenshot of a Full Moon scene where Blitz is interacting with a giant purple spider demon, and it took me so long to even try and figure out what is going on. Each characters stands out if you put them on a character sheet with no background or other character in it, but once it's placed in the actual show they feel like nothing.

It's mostly because the characters often have the same Vivziepop design tropes (bow ties, twig build, pointy teeth, excess amount of detail, same color palettes, etc) Repetitive designs causes them to blend in and not stand out with the other characters. It's why variety is important.

As you said, the characters being the same color as the background doesn't help as well. It's bad enough that there's an excessive amount of detail (God bless those animators), but when everything is one color, it doesn't help.

(I couldn't even tell what was going on in these scenes. I can only imagine it's worse for those who are visually impaired or have color blindness.)

The color palettes problem is ESPECIALLY prelevant here.

Out of all of these, I could easily guess Emily and Adam, as they had palettes that weren't all red (Funny how the characters with variety from the rest of the cast were the easiest to point out, interesting to think about).

Don't get me started on Helluva, though. That one took a while for me to differentiate between them.

I get they're imps and all, and they have a design scheme to stick to, but maybe have some variety in their designs?

And no, these ones don't count, as to the best of my knowledge, these weren't designed by Vivziepop.

(Vic Aldis and everyone else who worked on these, I respect you all immensely. Keep up your amazing work.)

Even with a limited color palette, the artists still found a way to make it work and have their characters unique.

[dood-itsradical]

Bounty

Pairing: Goo Kim x Gn!Reader

Summary: Bounty hunters are ok. Goo as bounty hunter? Not ok.

Genres: Action, comedy, can be viewed as platonic.

Details: 1.4k words, not proofread, martial artist!reader, reader is Malaysian bc I can, translations are placed at the end of the fic, cliffhanger ending.

A/n: Goo getting a proper oneshot by me?? Chat we winning! Reading Goo in Manager Kim HAD ME ON MY FUCKING KNEES and it sparks idea. This was originally supposed to be a drabble but it got long sooo, eat up! I don't do requests!

Masterlist

You don't know which idiot put a fucking bounty on you. First you hold grudge as you bound to find out who the culprit was. Eventually the people who hunt you down stole so much of your time, preventing you from doing so. It's not that they're any better than you are. They're just so many people willing to test their luck, that includes having a death wish.

"Boss, mee goreng satu!" You raised you hand to the local chef. He signaled back an 'OK' as you take a sit on the plastic chair. The homie atmosphere hits your nose with your eyes taking notes of your surroundings. When your food arrived you recited your bismillah before digging in.

The chair across from you were pulled suddenly, catching your attention when a man sat down. He fan the air with his hand, letting out a huffed and grin at you. "Damn, it's pretty hot is here huh? I have respect for you people. As soon as I land here I nearly pass out from the heat."

You paused mid chew, blinking at the blond dude. "Can I help you, sir?" You asked, your accent spoke with fluent English.

"Wait a moment." Goo shakes the fabric of his shirt, fanning himself from the inside. He then gesture your ice milo. "Can I?" You gestured back, letting him as he pull the glass to himself as drink from the straw. He takes big three gulps before exhaling. "Ah, that feels good. That's actually good. You guys have impressive products though."

"Where were we? Oh right." He pat his pants, before taking out his phone and show the screen to you. You stare before looking back at hik. Of course, he's your damn bounty. He's obviously not a local. But for a foreigner to came along this way for your ass? Now you're definitely have a big tone of beef with the culprit.

You chuckled, shaking your head. Picking your food as you said, "You got the wrong person. That's not me."

Goo's brows lit up, "Oh? That's not you?" He looked at his phone then back at you, double checking just to humour himself. "Really?"

You nod again, now it's his turn to chuckle. "Oh, I see, I see. I'm sorry. So you're really not (Full Name) from (birthplace), living in (address). (Age) years old, single, work part-time job. Parents named (dad's name) and (mom's name)."

You nearly choked at his full description of your background, you immediately swallowed your food and keep feigning a smile. "No, no."

"No?" He asked again in his own playful tone, "Ooh..." He nods before pulling your plate towards him. He leaned closer with a sneered. "Yah. Cut the bullshit already. You people are really know how to make jokes, I nearly pissed my pants."

As unfazed as you are, you decided to play along. "Where you from, sir?"

"South Korea." He spoke clearly, almost proudly. Your mouth shaped an 'O'.

"Wow, annyeonghaseyo! Welcome. Kamsahamnida for coming to our country."

The corner of his lips curled. He wasn't sure if you were mocking or that's really the basic knowledge around here. But he's the one that decide when play time is over.

The passing stray cat shrieks in surprise, followed by locals running away for their safety when the table was thrown effortlessly across the place by him.

You clicked your tongue, looking at where food landed. "Bro, that's a waste." Your gaze meet his piercing ones. "Can we not do this here? I wouldn't really appreciate it if some sialan started to show their gangster side here."

You raised you hand at the owner, managing to finish your sentence, "Sorry boss! I'll pay for the damage soon-" before a hard impact hit you square in the face, sending you back with an abnormal force. You groaned, pulling yourself back from someone's car. Inspecting the damaged on it as you then shake your head. "Of course it's a Myvi." You muttered, now facing front to your opponent.

His strength is definitely new to you. Mind you, you aren't much of a traveller. In this economy it's almost too hard to earn just enough money for that. But the fact envy you. Why must good fighters are always not from your country?

Brushing your side, you roll your shoulder. "Oi, oppa. Go easy on me lah! I don't have enough money to pay for the surgery. Even funeral cost you big dough, you know? My parents will have a heart attack." Your accent getting thicker as you scowl.

Goo laughed, "The review really tell no lies, huh? You locals really are friendly and funny. I like you but news flash you are the money. And I'm gonna make sure you're an easy one."

Cracking you neck, you get on your stance. His smirk gets wider as he read your body language.

You then pointed behind him, "Fuiyoh! Is that Uncle Roger?!" He raised a brow, and turn over his shoulder, giving you just the time to make a run for it. He deadpanned, "Wow."

Your feet scratched on the concrete as you took sharp turn to an alleyway. Picking up your feet as fast as you can. Don't get any wrong ideas. You're not a coward. You can fight. And you have the right to use it for self defense. But the idea of a random Korean guy coming here for you still sound absurd. Yet again what are the odds? Money is money. This guy must be loaded. Like super loaded.

"Hey."

Your eyes widened over your shoulder as he towers you, ready to pin you down with his fist. However you were quick to react, putting your foot down and pull your weight back and swerve to the side, dodging his attack. His fist meet the concrete, leaving huge crack from the strong impact.

"Superman?" You uttered in disbelief. You gasped, ducking your upper body to the front as his kick went pass you. You can feel strong breeze blowing your through you. He really does mean business. You really going to meet God at this point. But you aren't ready yet. You haven't repent to your past sins. You might as well get serious too.

You dodged his attacks swiftly. And by the looks of it he's having just as much fun. Blocking his hit with precise predictions, he take notes that you are no amateur. However quickly pushed aside that thought when he grasped the nearby rusty pipe, pulling it off like it's nothing and swing it towards you.

You groaned in pain. Your head throbbed like crazy as you stare at him judgmentally, "What the fuck, man?!" He whistled lowly, tossing the pipe playfully in his hand. He was impressed by your iron head and the fact that you hardly bleed. "You're playing dirty." You gritted your teeth, rubbing the sore spot. He shrugged, his smirk didn't falter, "I know. That's kinda my thing. Wanna see what else I can do?"

Again you found yourself being tossed across the store, damaging another property of others as people scramming out for their lives. "Sorry, aunty!" You said to the owner, picking your feet up.

"Haiyah, again ah?! You cannot stop causing trouble. I'll tell your mother." She scolded while pointed angrily at you, her accent is thick as a brick. Then at Goo, "You also! You think I cannot tell if somebody have a plastic surgery? You must have a lot of money, meh. So pay lah!"

"That's a shitty stereotype, lady." Goo stated. She spat back, "Ceh! What fuck do I give? (Name)! You settle this. This is why you haven't got married yet." She sigh heavily, shaking her head with disappointment before leaving the store from the backroom.

"I almost feel bad." Goo rolled his neck after the brief earful. You brushed him off, "I'm versatile. Where were we? Right, question. How much they paid you? Because I'm sure I wasn't even worth a million."

His hand rest the pipe on his shoulder while the other scratched his chin, "You'd be surprised. You're sort of a big shot, you should be proud."

"Proud? They call me anak saka. I'm a bad omen. That's God's job." You retorted. He snickered.

"Yeah, but me? I'm just doing devil's work here. Stop playing around. Just let me beat the shit out of you, yeah?" Lightly hitting the edge of the metal onto his palm rhythmically, he pulled a sadistic grin before charging at you with the speed of light.

Translations:

Mee goreng satu - one fried noodle

Bismillah - doing something "in the name of God"

Milo - popular cocoa drink

Sialan - fucker

Myvi - Malaysian car that is popular as a symbol of humour due to the random absurdity that they often occurred in. (Example/better understatement: Florida typa shit humour)

Lah - use as an addiction in a sentence in any way. Literally.

Fuiyoh - malay version of "wow"

Uncle Roger - popular Malaysian food critic Youtuber.

Haiyah - imagine the word 'sigh" but you pronounce the word instead of actually sighing. A term to use when you're disappointed.

Ceh - malay version of "tch" (Pronounced: ch-eh)

Anak saka - anak (child), saka (ancestral jinn what was pass down from the heritage) = devil's child.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

I Think Hypmic's Portrayal of Gender Roles is Kinda Refreshing: An Essay A.K.A. I'm Procrastinating on a Weekend Deadline :)

Hypmic's talking points on gender are hamfisted, corny, and melodramatic. "Maybe...we shouldn't have a wage gap," is not the hottest of takes. However, like most things in Hypmic, the writers have a lot more to say about gender and gender roles in the framing of the story itself that's much more nuanced. And honestly? It's kinda refreshing.

It's also something that went way over my head when I first became a Hypmic fan. Sure, I read manga and played Japanese video games--usually translated into English first--but I didn't have enough exposure to hundreds or thousands of pieces of untranslated Japanese media. I'm going to guess that most Hypmic fans don't either, which is totally fine and normal. We all exist within our respective cultural communities wherein we're bombarded with messages constantly telling us how to act, think, and speak. We tend to absorb these messages on subconscious levels and reflect them in the art we create and stories we tell, either by reinforcing them or challenging them. Thus, our stories don't exist in a vacuum, and divorcing stories from their cultural backgrounds can suggest the artist is the original thinker of a larger concept or hide their specific point of criticism. That is, if I wrote a story about a man who chooses to not catch fish, drink beer, and drive a Dodge Ram pick-up truck, we should be aware that I'm not the person who conceptualized the stereotype of dudes who catch fish, drink beer, and drive pick-ups. I wouldn't deserve the credit for dreaming up that exact image, and at the same time, it would be incorrect to read that as me targeting those three things randomly. The choice to not drive a Dodge Ram pick-up is not a commentary on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. It's a stand-in for the notion of masculinity.

Thing is, we're hit with messages about masculinity, femininity, and other gender-related concepts on a daily basis. No matter where you live or what language you speak, every person on Earth is inundated with messages saying, "This is what you are, and consequently, this is how you should act." Our relation to these messages is complicated, and this complexity is compounded by different cultural communities preaching different messages in their stories, marketing, and human interactions. For instance, the US's massive global cultural influence means that those outside the US can still easily recognize what I mean by catching fish, drinking beer, and driving enormous American pick-up trucks. But the location and cultural differences may add or subtract nuances. A person living in, say, Munich is unlikely to have Dodge pick-ups advertised to them the way a person in rural Texas would. Our fictional Munich person does not feel the same social pressures to buy a Dodge and represent their masculinity with a Dodge the way our imaginary Texan would. In turn, the Munich person likely sees a Dodge with an element of absurdity--who the hell needs such a big truck in a European city?--and foreign Americanness. The Texan wouldn't have that concern--why worry about navigating your enormous truck down narrow streets when you live in the countryside?--and sees Americanness as their local default, thus removing any element of foreignness.

That is to say, gendered messages aimed at people (especially women) who live in Japan don't affect me the same way as they impact those who do live in Japan. Like, it's not my dog in the fight, and there are plenty of people who are directly affected who write their own stories and commentaries on gender roles in Japan. Japanese women don't need a random guy in the US to stand up and say, "Damn, your gender roles are fucked!" 1) They already know. 2) They're already saying it. So I come at this from an angle of someone who already has deep, primary frustration with the gendered messaging in my culture and secondary frustrations when similar messages appear in other cultures. I don't have a bone to pick with Japanese media in particular. Plain and simple, reading and working on hundreds of pieces of Japanese media is what I do for a living. It's in my face constantly, and as a result, I am also perpetually bombarded by messages about gender roles in Japanese media.

It's not a hot take to say that Japanese media, like the media of every single other culture around the globe, has a lot to say about gender. There's a lot of slotting people into boxes and telling people what to do. It's chafing, as we see all across history in art produced in reaction to gender roles. In the past couple of decades, global shifts in gender roles have caused media to shift the messages they're pushing, but it's not controversial to say that Japan has lagged behind other countries like the US.

Many, many stories push arbitrary notions of how to be a girl or how to be a boy that don't necessarily come from the author themselves. The authors probably aren't even fully conscious that they're making these choices. If an author writes a story about a library and makes every female character a romance fan and every male character an action fan, it's likely a reflection of endless messaging that says action is for boys, romance is for girls. In turn, this story becomes yet another reinforcing message. If no fictional girls like action, and no fictional boys like romance, it becomes alienating for real girls and boys who don't follow these same rules. These rules are everywhere and have so much to say about gender that it's hard to know where to begin. Girls must like cute things. Boys can't like sweet food. Women must not express sexual desire. Men can't be shy. On and on and on.

Which is why, when there's a relative lack of this in Hypmic, it's kind of a breath of fresh air.

Wrong Ways to Be a Man

Actually, Hypmic does have a few moments where characters claim there are certain things men or women should do, but the writing always frames these messages as incorrect.

Take Samatoki, for instance. After Kuukou and Sasara leave MCD, Samatoki tells Ichirou, "Men shouldn't cry when they lose their friends. Men should only cry when they lose a family member."

(TDD chapter 10)

This line usually appears via Ichirou's perspective. In the stage play, it's told during a song Ichirou narrates, and as shown above in panel 3, the manga frames the line from the angle at which Ichirou sees it. In such moments, the audience is meant to read this as a cool line from a strong mentor figure to Ichirou. That's how Ichirou sees it, and he's a seventeen-year-old with too much on his shoulders who idolizes Samatoki. He is incapable of seeing how much pain Samatoki struggles with.

However, when the manga focuses on more intimate moments of Samatoki's life, we see that Samatoki does struggle quite a lot.

(BB/MTC+ chapter 6)

This isn't a cool, attractive figure meant to be idolized. While Samatoki's cigarette usage and aggressiveness are often framed as sexy or enticing, the juxtaposition with dirty laundry, overflowing ashtrays, and empty bottles make him a sympathetic and struggling figure. Therefore, we should understand that his notion that men don't cry is flawed. It's a means to distract himself from emotions he doesn't want to feel.

Later, as Samatoki begins to process his emotions and open up to his teammates, the unhealthy coping mechanisms recede. Samatoki is more confident, mature, and happier as a result of being more emotionally vulnerable.

We see a similar transformation with Kuukou. As a teen, Kuukou is reluctant to accept help or truly let anyone in. In a conversation with Hitoya, he says (and I am still completely unable to take this seriously), "A man's got to wipe his own ass."

(DH/BAT chapter 4)

However, over the course of his character arc, Kuukou learns that he cannot exist as a good leader or individual without the teamwork of his newfound "family." Only rejecting this classical and toxic notion of masculinity brings Kuukou joy.

In fact, most of the first-line characters have very similar arcs. At the start of the story, Ichirou is insistent on doing everything himself. He has to learn to be able to rely on other people (Kuukou, Samatoki, Ichirou and Jirou) to be happier and unlock his true strength. See below, his final attack and Ability use in the 2nd DRB, which is only possible when his brothers figuratively and literally support him through it.

(BB/MTC+ chapter 25)

Sasara struggles with emotional honesty and trust in favor of using humor to gloss over discomfort. It takes multiple heart-to-hearts with Roshou before he can let humor take a backseat and say how he really feels. Ramuda has difficulty trusting other people and being honest with his emotions when faced with stressful scenarios. Only through Fling Posse is he able to open up and ask for help instead of driving people away when the problems are too big for him to face alone. Jakurai struggles to connect with other people, work through and acknowledge his complicated feelings, and not place himself on a pedestal. Through Matenrou, Jakurai is able to ask for help, be more open, and ultimately be less hard on himself.

The second- and third-line characters follow similar arcs, and this repetition creates a core message for Hypmic: Trust and rely other people. Be open with your feelings. There's a wrong way to be a man, and that's to hurt yourself and other people.

Right Ways to Be a Man...Are Infinite!

But with that being said, there is a surprising lack of commentary on how else to be a man. Hypmic as a whole doesn't do much to constrain the male characters in terms of gender roles.

Sure, some characters do fit into more traditionally masculine roles--Ichirou, Samatoki, Riou, etc. The messaging makes it clear that it isn't wrong to play into masculinity provided it doesn't become toxic. (See above.)

Even then, however, these especially masculine characters are associated with less masculine traits that are either portrayed positively or not portrayed as a joke. Riou is an avid cook, but the joke is never that he wears an apron and knows his way around an outdoor kitchen (tee-hee, men don't cook!). It's that he cooks with horrifying ingredients. Samatoki is a fashionista, but the joke is framed as a counterpart to Ichirou's nerdiness.

(DoD chapter 1)

Here, it's funny that neither of them can shut up (the ペラペラ/blah blah SFX, the long bubbles filled with lots of text that's cut to indicate they kept going for longer), but the object of their attention--a model toy and a pair of jeans--are treated in the same neutral light. It's very common for stories to touch on, even defensively, the social taboo of men being into clothes. Hypmic doesn't even acknowledge that such a taboo could exist.

This is subtle but extraordinarily effective in giving characters the same consideration and weight. The more feminine characters are always treated just as sincerely (or, if there's a joke to be made, irreverently) as the more masculine characters. Take Ramuda, for instance. In Japanese media, a love of sweets is often characterized as feminine and will often be remarked upon, even in LGBT+ media, as atypical for men. Again, there's zero acknowledgement of such a thing in Hypmic. Whenever other characters talk about Ramuda's food intake, it's always framed as a concern about the lack of nutrition.

(FP/M chapter 11... I don't have the source lying around on my computer, so here's the old-ass scanlation lol)

It's also given the exact same weight as anyone else's junk food habits. Here, MCD goes out for burgers (a neutral to masculine-coded food due to the meat and high calorie count) while Ramuda opts to try a sugary Starbucks-esque drink. The parallelism in the comic's framing suggests that the two objects are functionally the same, and there is no comment that a sugary drink is feminine and therefore "inappropriate" for Ramuda. There's also no indication that MCD's preferences are in any way better. They simply happen to be the characters' personal preferences. The punchline is two groups splitting up, only to awkwardly run into each other again moments later.

(DoD volume 4 bonus comic)

Similarly, Ramuda's interest in clothes or fashion is never treated negatively--in fact, the discussions of clothes as a means to find identity and happiness make it a positive!

In ARB cards and promotional materials, Ramuda sometimes wears dresses. It's, again, portrayed in parallel to other characters wearing more masculine clothes and is never commented on as something "unusual." It's just who Ramuda is.

Hifumi is another interesting case. Like Ramuda, his playful personality often doesn't as stereotypically masculine. (To be clear, I read much of this as "gender neutral with a strong emphasis on youth" versus "feminine" in a way that I'm not sure has a good US equivalent...metrosexual/yuppie men's fashion, maybe? In the sense that it's a youth subculture that defies some masculine gender roles but is still focused mainly on men. I wish I was more well-versed in Japanese men's fashion and could give an exact term, but I'm what I'm thinking of is definitely an established thing--young, trendy dudes whose styles focus on poppiness vs. the rugged manly man or "idk, I'm just some guy" subcultures. It's a thing that pisses off old Japanese conservative men in the same fashion as people getting up in arms about "the gayz!!!1!" and their androgynous clothing lol.) Their personalities are often the butt of jokes, but only in the same way that Dice or Doppo are--that is, that they're exaggerated and over the top. There's no commentary on masculinity or lack thereof.

There are also moments when Hifumi, Gentarou, or other characters play feminine characters in roleplay moments, which is usually (but not always) not the sole joke. The audience is supposed to find it funny, but the humor is almost always centered on the absurdity of the scene as a whole. For instance, in a moment where Hifumi and Doppo are pretending to be two drunk karaoke-goers, the humor comes from the composite set-up of Hifumi's hair twirl, Doppo's untucked shirt and tie, Doppo and Hifumi's exaggeratedly flirtatious poses, the spotlights and sparkles, and the same font as used on classic karaoke machines.

(FP/M+ September 2022 oneshot)

Hifumi and Doppo do not perform traditional gender roles in their homelife, and while it's easy to see and often commented on in the English-speaking fanbase when it comes to Hifumi, I find it just as prevalent on Doppo. It's true that Hifumi is taking a feminine role by doing the majority of the household's cooking and cleaning, but if we were to assume Doppo has the masculine role in the household, he would have the breadwinner duty. However, he isn't the main source of income for their household, and he's just as unassertive in finding a (female) romantic partner as Hifumi is. Japanese men are bombarded with media messages stressing the importance of taking an active role in career and romance. That Doppo does not would, in many stories, make him the butt of a joke for not living up to masculine gender roles. But he isn't; instead, Hypmic portrays him as a sympathetic character. It's tough, Hypmic says, for people to get good jobs and maintain friendships/relationships as an adult.

Similarly, it's noteworthy that Hifumi's self-appointed term "Gigolo" is consistently portrayed as a good thing in Hypmic. The meaning of the English term aside, the Japanese word ジゴロ (jigoro) is almost always used as an insult for a man who is financially dependent on one or multiple women. In the strictest sense of the term, Hifumi is a jigoro in that his income derives from his female clients. However, there is never any shame associated with that, and as a whole, Hifumi's career as a host is shown to be a positive thing. I can't express enough how rare that is in any sort of semi-serious media. Certainly, Hypmic acknowledges that his job requires too much drinking (Doppo's verse in Hoodstar), but the overall portrayal is overwhelmingly positive. Hifumi and his coworkers are never treated as uneducated, boorish, or pathetic for "failing" to find other work that does not require flirting with and entertaining women. (This is partially due to the overlapping judgment with sex work.)

All the various harmless preferences and personality traits of the male characters are treated equally with no judgement over what's masculine or non-masculine. Within the broader context of Japanese media, this absence of judgment stands out and reinforces one of Hypmic's core themes: Differences make us better, not worse. In the end, Hypmic suggests, there's no one right way to be a man.

Right Ways to Be a Woman...Are Just as Infinite!

But what about women? This series is, after all, marketed mainly towards women, and while female audience members can no doubt extrapolate the lessons learned from the male characters, it's worth taking a look at the female characters too.

The female characters do receive much less screen time than the men and are not the focus in the series; I'd argue that's less an issue of overt sexism and more that they fall out of focus in the story the writers want to tell. (There's a broader discussion to be had about inherent sexism in the writers' focus which goes hand-in-hand with rap industries across the globe favoring men and rap being an example of exaggerated masculinity, but that's a topic for another day.)

Even so, the framing of the female characters is interesting in a couple key respects. The individual character arcs and motivations of the main female characters are, in my opinion, some of the weakest parts of Hypmic--many times, Otome and Ichijiku do things because the plot demands them to, making them look incompetent or needlessly cruel for characters we're supposed to sympathize with. Nemu's story seems to be handled with more care and takes an interesting twist, wherein she openly acknowledges that she's disenfranchised as a woman in modern Japan but rejects the notion that she needs to find strength on either Ichirou or Samatoki's (male) terms. By choosing to be strong in "her own way" (whatever that means...it's not well-defined), the authors are using Nemu to reject the notion that strength and power are inherently masculine.

What I find to be far more interesting is the character design for the Chuuouku women, both in what is said and what is not said.

To begin with, the characters and their portrayals run the gambit from highly sexualized to completely non-sexual. Some characters (especially Ichijku and Honobono) have conventionally attractive, curvy body types and are often drawn in ways that highlight their bodies.

(FP/M+ chapter 4)

(FP/M+ chapter 14)

In some cases, especially Honobono's, the enticing nature of the illustrations is framed as the character's choice; in the above, her words indicate that she wants to seduce the off-screen listeners. The images included above are largely representative of these characters' raps, regardless of illustrator.

But on the flip side, other characters with large breasts or hips are never drawn in a sexual fashion. By way of comparison, here are two shots of Nemu rapping.

(BB/MTC+ chapter 12)

Even in shots with dynamic poses, no attention is drawn to Nemu's figure in any sort of provocative sense. Nemu touches her chest, drawing the reader's eye there, but the artist does not emphasize the size of her chest--they're allowing a chest touch to be no more than an emphasis of the self. At the same time, Nemu's body isn't downplayed. We can see in panel 2 on page 2 that Nemu has a small waist and wider hips, but once again, she isn't being sexualized. The action lines draw the reader's eye to Samatoki and thus put the action first and foremost. This creates the idea that not only can characters portray themselves sexually, but they can just as easily choose not to.

We see similar with Otome, who does not wear any sort of revealing clothing and is never shown in a sexual fashion. However, Hypmic doesn't equate revealing clothing to sexual portrayals either! While I wouldn't call Tsumabira's outfit revealing, she does have more visible cleavage than most Chuuouku figures. However, her bare chest is never sexualized like Ichijiku's.

(BB/MTC+ chapter 4)

Compare the non-emphasis on the chest and the power stance to any of the many shots of Ichijuku where her breasts are front and center in the camera. Speaking of power stance, Tsumabira remains confident in her power stance without being sexy--that is, no stepping on the camera and showing her whole leg.

Which isn't to say that Tsumabira is a sexless character. She's drawn visibly turned on by the male characters in such a way that is cartoonish but not, in turn, overly sexual. Were this supposed to be titillating to the reader, I would have expected to see a larger close-up on her face and tongue. However, the artist (who is no stranger to focusing on tongues!) devotes the majority of the panel to Tsumabira's body language (which, again, doesn't absurdly exaggerate any of her proportions or focus on her chest) and covers part of the mouth with text bubbles. Tsumabira is drawn as engaging in sexual behavior without being sexualized for reader entertainment.

(FP/M+ chapter 4)

The juxtaposition of such different views with little to no judgement attached to any of them suggests that it's perfectly okay to want to be sexy or not, to wear revealing clothing or not, to be involved in sexual situations without being the object of sexual interest, or to simply exist with an attractive body type without sex ever coming into the equation. Just as some characters choose to tie bodies to sexiness, some don't whatsoever--and either is perfectly fine!

The former idea ("I can choose to be sexy") may not sound especially revolutionary to US audiences, where sexuality is thrust upon women willingly or otherwise, but I find it fascinating because it lets the main characters embrace this idea without associated slut shaming. So much of Japanese media insists that women should be sexy but are also wrong for wanting to indulge in their own sexuality. Therefore, having characters who run virtually every iteration of take on the topic (I want to engage in sexuality and be sexualized, I want to engage in sexuality without being sexualized, I don't want to engage in either) with multiple body types (ie, Tsumabira isn't automatically not sexualized because she has a smaller chest; Nemu isn't automatically sexualized because she has a bigger chest) and no judgement involved feels like another breath of fresh air to me.

As a whole, I find the diversity of the Chuuouku uniforms and character appearances quite interesting. They're undeniably all feminine and relatively militaristic, but different characters wear entirely different wardrobes. Skirts vs pants, blouses vs dresses, high heels vs boots... Since every character has her own take on the common theme, it once again feeds into the idea that each character is her own individual and perfectly valid for defining femininity in her own way.

Haircuts, too, range from longer and more feminine hairstyles to pixie cut-esque looks.

(BB/MTC+ chapter 16)

Again, nothing of the framing suggests this short-haired woman is in any way different from her longer-haired counterparts on the edges of this screenshot.

Finally, while most Chuuouku women are conventionally attractive, I find it extremely compelling that Haebaru is a stereotype of an unattractive Japanese woman. To be extremely clear, I do not think these stereotypes should have weight, but the combination of chubby and/or muscular build, freckles, rounded nose, and non-glossy hair is often used as a visual shorthand for unattractive or otherwise undesirable women.

Sure, it's not fantastic that Haebaru is a scheming, two-bit villain. However, so is virtually every other female character in the series, and in particular, Haebaru is (the conventionally attractive) Tsumabira's counterpart. Both are treated with the same respect or lack thereof, suggesting that one's appearance has nothing to do with your ability to be a no-good baddie. Ha ha ha.

It would be lovely if the female characters were fleshed out further and given intelligent choices and diversity outside of the realms of physical appearance. However, I do think the writers' choices are limited by virtue of all women automatically being antagonistic side characters (which, again, is another discussion altogether). What the writers can and have accomplished is further reinforcing a celebration of differences. Just as there's no one right way to be a man, there's an infinite number of ways to be a scheming snake of a woman HAHA.

Intersection with LGBT+ Topics

Unfortunately, this is a very binary look at gender and gender roles, which, while largely representative of the current state of Japanese media, can be disappointing.

Hypmic appears to want to steer shy of LGBT+ topics as a whole, which is a bit of a shame. In a story so focused on gender and acceptance of diversity, it seems the natural next step to explore the notion of those who experiences don't align with a strict gender binary. Such stories are growing in popularity in Japanese media but have yet to be anywhere near the mainstream acceptance in US media (which is still in a fledgling stage at best). I would imagine Hypmic's writers are unable or unwilling to take a definite stance on these topics in the work due to fears of financial or career backlash. If nothing else, the sexuality of the main characters needs to remain in a limbo in order to have plausible deniability for both self-shipping and shipping with other characters. (Some deniability may be more plausible than others.)

The few instances in which Hypmic does wander into this territory are usually clumsy. I am no fan of the handful of scenes where male/male attraction is supposed to be funny purely by virtue of being male/male.

The inclusion of Urumi, the one minor character explicitly LGBT+, is not stellar either. I am hesitant to apply any definite label to her, as the real-life people her stereotype portrays self-identify as everything from trans women to cis men--or refuse to use these English labels at all! Still, we know from her profession (proprietor of a bar heavily implied to be a gay bar by the neighborhood it's in), appearance (poofy permed hair, exaggerated make-up), and demeanor (feminine speech style, a bit flirtatious) that she's AMAB and choosing to present herself in a feminine fashion. By writing Jirou to ask, "Aren't you a man?" in an exasperated fashion, the writers have put her gender presentation in a boke role--suggesting she's over-the-top, exaggerated, comedic. It's not great. I completely understand why readers find it offensive (and it is) even while I don't think the writers intended it that way. Ultimately, it would have been great to see other explicitly LGBT+ characters portrayed without the joking angle.

With that said, I'm not entirely unhappy with her character. She is a stereotype, but the authors have chosen to take only the visual elements of the stereotype and leave the rest on the cutting room floor. In other works of fiction, characters like Urumi are often hypersexual to the point of being in-universe creepy, especially towards underage boys. Other times, characters like her may be eccentric or off-putting in other ways. However, that's not at all the case here. Urumi seems to play a helpful big sister/aunt role in Jirou's life, and he's clearly comfortable enough with her to spend the night at her bar.

(BB/MTC+ chapter 17. "Sorry, but can I shack up here again tonight?" "Of course you can.")

While she seems to engage in some sort of a bohemian lifestyle, as evidenced by the alcohol and smoking, it isn't anything outside of what many of the other characters do. Additionally, while she isn't drawn in a flattering fashion in scenes where she's playing up her persona (which is par for the course with any character in this series, regardless of gender), there are plenty of neutral shots of her being serious. Finally, the art is never outright rude--that is, she isn't drawn exaggeratedly masculine or flamboyantly...snakey? I don't know how to describe this to anyone who's lucky enough to have never seen this--clearly LGBT+ AMAB characters drawn with noodly limbs and huge, overblown lips winding around male characters.

Maybe because I see so much worse continuing to be produced in this day and age, I feel like Hypmic could have done a much, much worse job with this character. She overall plays a positive role and is treated with much the same care as other side characters. It's unfortunate, then, that the writers have chosen to make her gender presentation the subject of a joke.

In other frustrations, I heavily dislike the unnecessary gender divide in background characters. All punks and other background baddies are male, whereas all adoring fans are female. (But Rhyme Anima has done an interesting job of subverting this!) The vast majority of other background figures fall into strict gender roles, which is likewise disappointing. It appears that diversity may be an accepted trait for none but a lucky few that form the main Hypmic cast.

All in all, I don't think Hypmic's portrayal of gender roles is groundbreaking, nor do I think it's fair to suggest that all Japanese pop culture plays into strict gender roles. There are certainly many Japanese works, popular or otherwise, with much more interesting things to say about gender. However, when compared to the vast majority of the titles that cross my desk on a regular basis, I notice and appreciate the level of care put in to Hypmic's commentary on gender roles. The work consistently reinforces the notion that it's okay to be your own individual, no matter how that plays into your gender, and I find that freeing. That's a message we could all do to hear more often, regardless of culture and language.

TL;DR: Oh no, my rapidly approaching deadline. :)

[swagginmun]

Hello!

I just wanted to tell you that your art and way of storytelling is AMAZING. You're one of my biggest inspirations, and one of the people who got me into LMK (which I am very grateful for! Thank you so much)!!

I also have two questions for you (if you're not too busy! I dont want to bother you-)

What's your process for making illustrations? Yours look so pretty and they are so wonderful to look at!

And, what's your tips for anyone who wants to make a LMK fan-comic, but is a little scared to get something wrong? (Like good representation and cultural no-nos for example. I've done research, but the internet can be a little confusing and messy about topics like this, so I wanted to ask for help!)

I do hope that I'm not bothering you in any way!

Have an amazing day/night!

This is an oldie ask, apologies, but I do have a better way to answer this now! Typically, when I work on my pieces, I have 4 main phases: Roughs, Lines, Flats, and Renders! I'll use this Nezha piece as an example!

My Roughs stage includes getting references, color themes I may want, and feeling out the general vibe I want out of a piece! For this one, I really wanted to push Nezha's face expression (my main) as well as try to emphasize the speed at which he was moving.

Once I do that, I try to space out everything in the background, and refine the sketch with one more rough draft before moving on to the lines!

The Lines stage is pretty self-explanatory: this is when I line everything and make additional changes I may not have thought of from the Roughs stage: For this one in particular, I remember wanting to add details of more wear and tear, such as the sash being a bit damaged, or his bracelet getting cracks, or his face being a little scuffed up.

Next up: Flats! This is when I would flat color, as well as adjust the lineart to have colored lines (its already colored in the prior screenshot, but my lineart starts out all black) I find coloring the linart helps make the colors feel more "lived in" for lack of a better phrase

Finally, the render portion, which usually starts with the BG for me most times; I find if I know the environments colors/lighting it helps concrete where light is affecting the characters

This is your overlays, mutiply, and shine layers in action! Flat coloring makes my soul itch, but rendering really helps quell that pain for me; esp if I get to work with gold/hair shine! I hope that was helpful! And as far as advice for respecting cultural-related things, honestly, as an American I don't know much in the realms of specifics, but I do know to try to have basics understood, which I gather from what has been made thus far within LMK, reading the source material/fact checking information I come across, my own experience of being black in America, and reviewing travel advise funny enough. I wish you a good luck with your artistic journey homie!

[shierakqiyas]

EXPLORING THE PARALLELS BETWEEN DAENERYS TARGARYEN AND ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are the last descendants of their dynasties (House Targaryen & House Tudor)

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are daughters of tyrant Kings (Aerys Targaryen & Henry VIII)

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are the third in the line of succession to the throne which make them unlikely heirs but the unpredictable deaths of their respective siblings made them rise to power and becoming Queens regnant that ruled in their own rights.

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are preyed upon by their guardians. ( Jorah mormont is dany's sworn protector/knight and Thomas seymour is elizabeth's stepfather)

He should not be doing this. I am his queen, not his woman. (...) It was a long kiss, though how long Dany could not have said. When it ended, Ser Jorah let go of her, and she took a quick step backward. “You… you should not have…”

���Dany, A storm of swords

Seymour’s own behaviour was not calculated to make this seem unlikely, for he treated Elizabeth in a boisterous way that was too tinged with sexuality to be dismissed as playfulness pure and simple. He liked to engage the teenage girl in suggestive banter, coming into her bedchamber before she was fully dressed so that he could “bid her good morrow and ask her how she did, and strike her upon the back or on the buttocks familiarly”. If he found her still in bed, “he would put open the curtains and … make as though he would come at her”, forcing Elizabeth to burrow helplessly under the bedclothes. “One morning he strave to have kissed her in her bed”, which even Mrs Ashley thought was going too far, and she “bade him go away for shame”. Mrs Ashley’s presence ensured that these sessions could not get too out of hand, nor was Elizabeth herself an altogether willing victim. She was able to outwit the Lord Admiral by rising earlier than usual, so that when Seymour entered he found her up and dressed, and demurely absorbed in study.

—Queen Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are polyglots. their abilities to speak many languages allowed them to converse easily with people from various backgrounds that visited their courts.

Reznak and Skahaz waited atop the marble steps. “Great queen,” declared Reznak mo Reznak, “you are so radiant today I fear to look on you.” The seneschal wore a tokar of maroon silk with a golden fringe. A small, damp man, he smelled as if he had bathed in perfume and spoke a bastard form of High Valyrian, much corrupted and flavored with a thick Ghiscari growl.

“You are kind to say so,” Dany answered, in the same tongue.

—Dany, A dance with dragons

(..) While her mastery of so many languages later assisted her conduct of diplomacy by enabling her to converse with foreign ambassadors,

She (Elizabeth) did not see language simply as a means of communication but as an artistic medium, and it was this that inspired the singular cadences and ornate phraseology of her mature speech.

—Queen Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth's take great joy in riding horses

Dany rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it were a song in her heart.

Dany thought of her only as the silver. She had never loved anything so much.

—Dany,A game of thrones

She was an excellent rider, and had such a good seat on a horse that in February 1560 the Spanish ambassador reported admiringly, “The Queen rides out every day into the country on a Neapolitan courser or jennet … She makes a brave show, and bears herself gallantly”.

—Queen Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth sought by many marriage suitors because of their power and high status

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth have secret lovers, Daenerys take Daario as a lover just like Elizabeth I (assumed by historians) take Robert Dudley as her secret lover. because Daario and Robert are too lowborn, their close relationships with Daenerys & Elizabeth faced with disapproval and scrutiny from people in the queens's courts.

The old knight neither liked nor trusted Daario, she knew. Even so, he had answered gallantly. "There is no woman more lovely than Your Grace. Only a blind man could believe otherwise, and Daario Naharis was not blind."

—Dany, A dance with dragons

When Kat, with her usual impetuosity, again urged that, whatever the facts of the case, the damage to her reputation could even lead to civil war, Elizabeth - emotional now - refused an appeal that she see less of Robert. She needed him, she said, because 'in this world she had so much sorrow and tribulation and so little joy'. To some of the foreign ambassadors, this was indeed becoming a scandal that could even topple Elizabeth from the throne.

—Elizabeth and Leicester: The Truth about the Virgin Queen and the Man She Loved.

daenerys art credit to :

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Is Sauron a narcissist?

I think it’s time for me to address this “Sauron the narcissist” headcanon, from my Tolkien nerd perspective. I’ve noticed this is particularly popular in the Sauron x Galadriel fandom (for some reason I fail to understand, honestly), don’t really know about the others, sorry.

I’ll start by saying folks are allowed to interpret fictional characters whatever they like, and see fit. Aren’t you allowed to call Sauron a “narcissist”? Of course not. You’re free of projecting or see whatever you want to see on characters.

Is this what Tolkien wrote or what’s being depicted on “Rings of Power”? No. Is this missing the entire point of Sauron and Celebrimbor as written by Tolkien? Yes.

First; you all want to see Celebrimbor as a victim of Sauron. He’s not and this way of thinking is a complete butchering of Tolkien’s message (I hate to sound like a “Tolkien purist” here, but it’s true in this case). You need to understand that Tolkien was, indeed, a preacher, and Christian-Catholic doctrine is all over his work. His legendarium is filled with cautionary tales. There is no escaping it, you can’t understand Tolkien without this. Unless that’s not your goal, and that’s your prerogative, of course.

Celebrimbor is not a victim of Sauron; he’s a victim of his own arrogance, vanity, pride and envy. This is what Tolkien wrote, and this is the cautionary tale. I already discussed this briefly on Of Sin and Sinners post. Don’t recommend if you don’t enjoy Sauron x Galadriel.

Tolkien was particular harsh on the Elves of Eregion, with Celebrimbor being their leader. By allowing the “rings of power” to be forged, they were acting against Eru (God) himself, because this is the core message of Tolkien legendarium.

But the Elves are not wholly good or in the right. Not so much because they had flirted with Sauron; as because with or without his assistance they were 'embalmers'. They wanted to have their cake and eat it: to live in the mortal historical Middle-earth because they had become fond of it (and perhaps because they there had the advantages of a superior caste), and so tried to stop its change and history, stop its growth, keep it as a pleasaunce, even largely a desert, where they could be 'artists' – and they were overburdened with sadness and nostalgic regret. 

Tolkien Letter 154

The Elves were “cheating death” with the whole “rings of power” project, which allowed them to stay where they don’t belong instead of returning to Valinor. Yes, including and especially the “good” Three Elven rings of power. Because this is a breaking of Eru’s laws on itself. And by doing this, the Elves are on the wrong, here, they are on the side of evil, even thought they fight Sauron (Tolkien Letter 183).

And this is why Eru allows Sauron to destroy Eregion (and Lindon, later), as punishment. In Tolkien lore, everything happens according to Eru’s plan. And this is why he doesn’t prevent Sauron from doing all of this. Because this is God’s justice at work. This is what you get for acting against me.

This is not “gaslighting”. This is show writers (or more likely the Tolkien experts that assist with the writing) using Sauron’s character to deliver Tolkien message to the audience. The problem is that the overall audience no longer has the religious background to grasp this. And apparently don’t even the actors understand it, either, with all the nonsensical “domestic abuse” interpretations. Or perhaps they went with this for the audience better accept it, instead of pushing religious messaging down people’s throats. Which is, with all due respect to Tolkien, what he intended with all of this.

It was Celebrimbor’s arrogance that allowed him to fall into evil (embodied by Sauron). And he, indeed, chose it. Because Celebrimbor wanted to surpass Fëanor, he wanted to craft legendary objects, he wanted to create a mythos like his grandfather’s Silmarils. And evil/Sauron gave him just that, and he payed the price for his sins. Because pride and greed are capital sins, deadly sins, against Eru himself, for which the punishment is death.

Tolkien is preaching here: this is what you get for being greedy and envious, and going against God.

Last, but not least, calling Sauron a “narcissist” doesn’t make any sense lore-wise. He’s not a human, nor a mere Elf; he’s a immortal deity who’s been around since the beginning of time. He helped shape the world he seeks to dominate. Of course, he feels entitled to everything he’s doing, and to rule over Middle-earth. He, literally, created the world alongside the Valar and the other Maiar.

He looks at Middle-earth in ruins after the War of Wrath, and how the Valar aren’t doing anything to help. Being a deity himself, Sauron makes rebuilding Middle-earth his mission. He thinks this is how he’ll redeem himself. And Tolkien tell us Sauron means well, at first, until he gets too high on power trips and tries to become God himself (and that’s when Eru intervenes).

[roo-bastmoon]

Off My Chest

Rant about Hybe under the cut. I give you my word I will try to post a majority of positive content, because the world (and my mental health) doesn't need more negativity, but sometimes you just gotta vent.

Folks, if you've known me for a hot second, you've realized I am a Jimin-biased Jikooker... but I am OT7, and I sincerely love and support BTS.

I believe Jimin is a grown man who can advocate for himself and I believe Jungkook absolutely supports and adores him, whatever their relationship status is.

I always try to accentuate the positive and avoid online drama and negativity as much as possible, but I need to get this off my chest.

I will never be gas-lit into believing that the way Jimin was treated in solo era was fair, or equitable, or even made any kind of business-sense. I've genuinely tried to entertain other people's points of view and listen to people who claim to have industry expertise, but...

I will never forget his mail being tampered with four times, his leaked insurance information, denial of more music videos, overlapped solo release, only 9 days of promotion, split title tracks, no radio or play-listing, no bio for his Spotify for months, no restock of his single CD for months, hundreds of thousands of frozen and deleted sales, millions of culled streams, shady articles in WeVerse and Billboard, insulting dialogue in In the Seom, failure to submit to RIAA certification for months, only a paywall documentary on WeVerse, zero official acknowledgement of his Hot 100 #1, 1 billion streams on Spotify, or wins for The Fact, MAMA, and two Webbys, plus broken in-ears, anemic little balloons and a sad background tarp as decorations for his fan events… and the company telling him how doing more would just be impossible.

I compare all that to the push that other members and other groups got, and I know it just isn't true. It wasn't impossible.

Hell, Jeon Jungkook put in more effort to promote Jimin’s work and showed more respect for Jimin as an artist during his at-home lives than that whole company did, which honestly makes no sense from a profit standpoint.

I will never forget it, and I will not entertain arguments that say I’m a solo or an anti or jealous about it. I have eyes.

I am not out to shade any other members nor put forth any conspiracy theories. I simply want all our boys to get everything they justly deserve.

And yes, other members have suffered mishaps and neglect, but nothing of this scale, this consistently. It baffles me, I cannot understand it, and I'm done trying. Something strange was going on behind the scenes and we may never be privy to the details.

In trying to put this awful feeling behind me, I will say I am elated that Jikook are serving together and can support each other. I am glad there will be a Jikook travel show. I'm continually impressed with all of Jimin's success (in the military and professionally) despite all odds. I will always love and support all of BTS with my full heart.

And I sincerely hope the company has been taking notes and course-corrects for PJM2, even if it rubs some higher ups the wrong way if they had a different vision. Considering Jimin’s unique talents and his amazing star power—even his ability to bring Paris and New York to a screaming standstill just for the opportunity to see him exit a car—I would hope the company will “do their best to promote all labels and artists without discrimination” going forward.

But what happened truly sucked, and I needed to get that off my chest. I am not interested in further discussion or debate. I am now going to do my best to shift my focus and energy on to the things I want to manifest, instead of the things that enrage me.

So let me end on a positive and hopeful note: I put all my trust in Jimin, who signed a new contract with Hybe and who unfailingly adores all his members. There can be no love without trust. I will always do my best to trust BTS.

But I'm watching carefully. For Jimin and all our boys.

Love, Roo

[leidensygdom]

AI bros from hell

Hello! Do you have a bit of your time for a story on AI bros and clients from hell? I bring a really fun one!

I met this guy at a con I was tabling at over a year ago, before AI was a thing. He said he enjoyed my art, and inquired me about whether I did book illustrations. I said yes- He was specifically interested in my bigger pieces, the fully rendered and detailed ones. He agreed to send me later a DM to discuss specifics.

For two weeks, he kept DMing me on details about his book, what he wanted, etc. He wanted full illustrations for inside the book as well as a cover, all of them fully colored, painted and rendered. He also wanted illustrations in this style to post on social media to promote the book. I had warned him that something like that would be costly, but he insisted that he needed this to be the best of the best.

Now, I was getting bad vibes from the guy. I shit y'all not, his instagram handle was "The next tolkien". I wasn't however gonna refuse a job opportunity. Now, he finally asked for prices: He had reassured me he was willing to pay fairly for this. Since he's a starting author, I gave him my non-commercial quotes, which are much, much, much lower than the standard for book illustrations. I mean "if you search for how much this costs on google, the lower prices are x5 times more expensive than what I offered".

The guy, upon receiving that, just ghosted me. Immediately unfollowed, didn't reply me with a "sorry, I can't afford it" or "sorry, i was expecting to pay $10 for a full rendered full background several-characters-picture". Nothing.

The other day I decided to search what he was up to. He's now released... THREE books for this series. There's a single review in the first one. Not even written, just a stars one. Also, notably, he had a webpage put together promoting the book, and. Yeah.

All the art is AI crap.

Which makes sense. My guy was very on his high horse about how fantastic of a writer he is, but I guess art isn't really to be compensated fairly. When he saw the "art stealing machine you just pay a subscription for", I'm guessing he was very excited.

So, uh, here's some of the marvelous pictures he generated of the characters, which surely tell you about how great the book is. AI is theft, so I don't give a f*** about reposting it.

I have a lot of opinions about creators who write, draw or make music, who are more than happy to use AI for other stuff- Album covers made with AI, writers using AI crap for book illustrations, artists using AI-made music. It feels like you're sh*tting in any other artistic field and showing how little you respect anyone but yourself. Like, I'll be honest, I don't have interest reading a book from someone who considers that other forms of art aren't real or worth any money. It just tells me you're devoid of any interest for art or humanity.

As an ending note, his instagram description is "More closer to god than to human", which does add to the clownery.