#the colour inversion is EVERYTHING

[jackattack20writes]

24 hours ago I liked a ship in a real “I just think their neat” vibe but then I had Revelations about it and it’s suddenly turned into a brain rot mix of “oh my god why did you half ass this so badly in canon” and “oh my god there’s so little in canon I can twist it however I want in fanfics” because both characters got the bare minimum character development after the halfway point in the manga with minimal backstories.

So that’s fun.

That’s really what I needed more and different brain rots to the ones I already had.

[humanveil]

my nan loves to get people expensive matching pj sets for birthdays and stuff and the set she gave me this year is literally a gerri kellman tern haven dupe

[nijigasakilove]

Starting to think the hype for a show is inversely proportionate to its quality because wtf all the best premieres this season have had no hype! Like where the hell did this show come from, Cloverworks knocked this first episode out of the park and if this is any indication of how the rest of the series is gonna look, look out for a dark horse AOTS contender.

There’s no better studio to handle shows that have a blend of action and comedy than Cloverworks. They’ve shown us time and time again with Spy x Family, Balance Unlimited, Windbreaker and now this, but this actually looks better than anything they’ve done imo.

First 12 minutes of the episode totally lull you into thinking it’s gonna be a peaceful slice of life anime about a prince who likes to slag off his training, only to seamlessly transition, thru the use of the ball hitting the ground turning into a decapitated head, into the reality of the era. This period in Japanese history was filled with bloodshed, war, betrayals and stuff that would make George RR Martin’s novels look like Disney colouring books and they nailed that here.

The bloodshed, the fall of the Hojo clan and their territory, it all feels so sudden and you’re as broken as Tokiyuki is by the end of it. Everything’s going so well, you get the prophecy from the sage and boom, your world is flipped upside down. Brilliant use of direction to evoke empathy from the audience for the MC. Almost a Ghost of Tsushima style start to this.

The animation during the scene of Suwa pushing Tokiyuki off the cliff and him running thru the crowd of warriors was astounding.. this really is one of the best looking shows this year and one of the best premieres as well. After the success of Shogun I’m very much down for more stuff in this era of Japanese history and can’t wait to see how Tokiyuki gets his revenge.

[beenbaanbuun]

ateez as coasters from my favourite theme park

for those of you who don’t know, i am a coaster enthusiast and this specific theme park is my favourite place on planet earth hehehe

park seonghwa - th13teen

this image is actually both th13teen and rita! they’re the only two coasters in the park that kind of interact in this way and i think that’s very cute and very matz!!

th13teen is initially quite tame but there’s a secret twist (a drop track!!) that adds a little spice in there which reminds me of seonghwa’s duality on and off stage

the theming is also kind of culty which i feel is very hwa!

kim hongjoong - rita

this image is once again rita over the th13teen queue line and again, the way that the two coasters interact is so matz, it was meant to be

the thing about rita is the ride itself is very short (about 25 seconds) but it’s a launch coaster which means it accelerates very fast (i got whiplash the first time i rode it) which is SO. HONGJOONG.

its also red and i love hongjoong with red hair! please sir… give me what i want (red hair)

jeong yunho - oblivion

this majestic coaster is oblivion! a vertical drop coaster that drops the rider 180 feet into the ground! it’s the tallest coaster in the park so take from that what you will…

it’s also the first vertical drop coaster to ever be created! it’s become such an iconic coaster for the park and played a huge part it making the park what it is today. yunho joining hongjoong all those years ago reminds me of this coaster; it sparked the beginning of an era

kang yeosang - galactica

this beautiful delight of a coaster is galactica, a flying coaster that may not always get shown the appreciation it deserves. despite that, she is such a wonderful addition to the park and it really wouldn’t be the same without her

she may not be as outwardly intense as the other coasters but she is fun and riding her always makes me smile just like yeosang does!!!

she’s probably one of the most beautiful coasters at the park in my humble opinion!

choi san - the wickerman

this, my friends, is the wickerman! a wooden coaster which may seem unassuming but is actually one of the best and most intense coasters at the park!!!

she’s made entirely of wood, including the huge wickerman structure that you pass through multiple times. she seems very sturdy in a natural way, just how san feels to me; reliable and sturdy and very natural

it smells like a bonfire and it’s such a comforting smell to me to the point where i but candles specifically for the reason that they smell like this coaster. i feel like san is also a very comforting presence; big and cuddly and i know he smells good

song mingi - nemesis reborn

EMO COASTER FOR MY FAVOURITE EMO BOY!!!!! the colour palette is so mingi, the aggression of this coaster is so mingi (on stage… he’s a big softy off stage), everything about her is so mingi

she’s such an iconic coaster and so hugely loved by the public. on the day she reopened after her year long hiatus there was a 6 hour wait to ride her! she deserves it too! she’s so beautiful

she’s also made specifically for this space in this theme park just like i believe that mingi well and truly belongs in ateez. the area was quarried out and the coaster was planned to fit to the specific space. it’s unique, just like mingi!!

jung wooyoung - spinball whizzer

this is spinball whizzer and it’s a spinning coaster that’s marketed as a children’s ride but it will aggressively break every bone in your body before calmly chucking you off at the station…

it’s another one that makes me smile and giggle when i’m on it and it’s so energetic and there’s always so much going on and i just think that that’s wooyoung

it feels very much like an old friend and the park wouldn’t feel the same without it. it brings so much to the park and i adore it

choi jongho - the smiler

this is the smiler and it is the most rollercoaster rollercoaster to ever rollercoaster which i feel like is a very jongho thing...

it has the most inversions of any coaster in the world, it’s fast, it has so much airtime. essentially everything you want in a coaster, the smiler has… just like jongho seems to be good at everything he ever does!!!

it’s one of the most creative coasters in the world in my opinion and everything it does it does with its whole head and soul. it’s popular and it deserves to be!!!

[roseofspades]

not to be crazy and I don’t even know if this is true at all but miles edgeworth wore a bow tie as a child before his father died. Even as a kid before being traumatised and raised by von karma he dressed in this very formal way but the bow tie is emulating his father Gregory edgeworth who wears a tie, because miles wanted to be like him. But he was very young and when he was taken in by von karma he starts to wear the cravat. It’s a clear signifier of a big change in his life of course and correct me if im wrong but in the anime there’s a period of time before he wears the cravat but after he’s with the von karmas where he’s not wearing a cravat or his bow tie just a weird little ribbon thing. And not to go on a tangent but it’s clear that neckwear it very important and symbolic of a whole heap of things such as character identity and their influences and how they change over time etc etc with distinct neckwear actually being a really noteworthy feature for so so many of the ace attorney characters (see maya and the fey clan and the magatama, the von karmas and the cravats, both flashback phoenix and 7yg phoenix with different necklaces, the Diego/godot shirt and tie colour inversion just to name a few). And one thing I’ve noticed is of the characters who do wear regular old ties they still have distinct colours. Gumshoe wears brown, grossberg wears yellow, redd white has a weird spotty tie, Winston Payne has a weird red-brown, neil Marshall wears pink, a few police figures wear blue or black etc etc why am I going on about this why does it matter well as far as I can tell most of them a unique and as we know phoenix wears red. and while I haven’t finished the second trilogy, the only other character who wears a red tie that i am aware of is Gregory edgeworth. I have no idea if people have talked about that specifically and I know there’s plenty of Gregory and phoenix comparison that I know people have discussed already but there’s just something about this similarity to me when basically every single character has a different colour and given how much the entire neckwear thing is such a symbol for edgeworths character I just - I’m kinda going crazy over it. He already sees them both as his hero I just-

Anyway I originally wrote this because I was gonna head canon that miles couldn’t actually tie the bow tie himself because even though he would’ve been smart enough as a young kid to do it if he wanted to, I imagine it would also be something his father would help him with and then he never wore a tie or bowtie again after that so if he had learnt to tie it, that was over fifteen years ago and before dl6 and so I’m just thinking about grown adult miles edgeworth who wears a cravat every day tying a tie if not by himself for the first time in his life than since before everything about his life changed, and becoming a bit more like his father again

[valrayne-faeu]

I can’t get the image out of my head of a newly turned MC waking to find their new form and just wailing as everything sets in.

More or less an inverse of the scene in the Angelina Jolie Maleficent where she wakes up without her wings-

And especially to have their skeleton watching not too far away, forcing themselves not to trouble you yet

awwww, that's a tragic image (╥﹏╥) thankfully the fae features don't all happen at once. it's a slow process; it takes a while for your wings (if you have them) to grow in, and the first things you start to notice are the smaller changes. your ears getting longer and pointier, maybe your eyes start shifting in colour, your teeth getting longer and sharper. every fae is different, but in general it can take up to a year after being officially trapped in the realm for things like your wings to be fully grown.

now, there are ways to speed up the process... but that has some associated pain. your body isn't meant to have drastic changes so quickly. if you try to leave the fae realms before you're fully fae, the border will reject you-- and the potent magic will attempt to remedy that by changing you. the longer you're in contact with the barrier, the more changes that happen in quick succession, but also the more it hurts. a quick shock will result in something like your ears having changed.

if the changes bother you as they happen you can try trading them away or learning to use glamours to hide them!

[dreamingsnowflake2013]

THIS! The ultimate irony of fate. The interactions between Zhaoyou and Tantai Jin prove how much the timeline has already diverged thanks to Susu’s actions.  The Xiaoyao Sect Leader meets a completely different man this time around, with completely different eyes, heart and soul, a transformed man who understands kindness, regret, humility and love because he’s gone through the most excruciating pain and torment a mortal can experience in his lifetime, yet instead of lashing out at the world and taking revenge, he has overcome his worst impulses and chosen to be good and deal with his pain on his own.

The DG Tantai Jin considered having a master as something demeaning, yet the word gains a new meaning to him, a teacher, someone to help him, educate him and show him the way, a figure he had sorely lacked in his life, until Susu appeared, who really explained and translated the world and emotions to him. 

Therefore it’s really apt that he finds his new master in her surrogate uncle, who had also been a teacher to her (the time-travel paradox!) and in the very place where he had met her in the original timeline as his alter ego. It’s so powerful how, for him, everything begins and ends with her. He and his universe revolve around her even 500 years after he lost her.

The way both Tantai Jin’s teachers keep falling asleep during his lessons! He should ask for a refund or at least a discount.

Also, the fact that he thought about joining the very same sect in the past and wanted to learn cultivation there because he knew that devouring demons had many disadvantages and limits and wouldn’t sustain him in the long run.

Moreover, it’s the place Ming Ye left behind as his legacy, showing that even the most terrible places and things can turn into something good. The place is really a metaphor for Tantai Jn - that even the darkest things might be basked in light one day, just like he has become a good man. That it doesn’t matter how you start but how you end and what decisions you make to get there.

It’s meaningful how Tantai Jin’s first reaction at seeing the sect contrasts the Devil God’s - instead of destruction, he can finally see the beauty and light of it and appreciate it because Susu made him understand light. 

Even the first meeting between Zhaoyou and Tantai Jin in the new timeline portrays a complete reversal of their original dynamic. With Tantai Jin kneeling now and seeking death and the sect leader being the one doing the teasing and playing with him.

Tantai Jin becomes the direct opposite of the Devil God up to his wardrobe, he wears a white silvery coronet headpiece instead of black, the colour pallete of his clothing is inversed and he lacks the dark armour with claw-like hand guards that made the Devil God appear so utterly inhuman. 

If you can’t beat them, join them!

I adore how the one thing that both alter egos of Tantai Jin have in common is that they both end up seeking something from the Sect, its secrets - the Devil God looks for the only thing that can destroy him, the Mirror of the Past, while Tantai Jin searches for a hope how to resurrect his “dead” lover, but instead of blackmailing the Leader he begs him to teach him.

The way the sect leader helps Tantai Jin to stand up, preserving his dignity, after having to kneel and prostate himself for the better part of his life to survive and having to squash his own dignity in the process. The people in his life ordered and forced him to kneel, just like the original Ye Xiwu, but he kneels for Susu willingly now.

Finally, the fact that the Devil God had never been content or happy but for Tantai Jin, his life at the Sect, together with the time he spent with Susu, is the time he actually feels contentment and happiness.

[worflesbian]

right okay i dont know exactly how persistent an issue this is bc i almost never go into the tags on this website, but even ive noticed this happening so i feel like that’s justification to make a post about it. the whitewashing of julian bashir as an established Thing not just in the fandom but in official merch has been discussed before, but recently i’ve noticed the inverse happening with martok and b’elanna, a white character and a lighter latina character who people seem to often draw darker than they are in canon. and there’s like. a Lot going on there to unpack.

so this video goes into some detail about the racism baked into the origins and design of the klingons in tos, it’s very informative about the anti-asian stereotypes especially in a 60s context but i feel like it doesnt really cover the way that antiblackness becomes a more significant factor in the next gen era so like. if you didn’t know, the majority of the klingon characters in the next gen-ds9-voyager era are either played by actors with dark skin or Very frequently by white actors in heavy dark makeup. if you look up the actors of grilka, alexander, kehleyr, and sirella for example you’ll see what im talking about like the difference is Stark and these are some of the main recurring klingons across both shows. hopefully i do not need to explain why packing white actors in brown makeup to play members of a species characterised as violent, warlike and animalistic is racist. i say hopefully bc who knows with this website. anyway i’d recommend this video for a wider context on the legacy of blackface in tv!

martok is a rare example of a klingon played by a white actor who, as far as i can tell, does not have his skin significantly darkened. so to see him frequently being drawn with darker skin is uh Slightly Concerning given everything in the previous paragraph! ive even seen art where he’s drawn darker than julian in the same post which... anyway im not trying to blanket condemn reinterpreting the design of alien characters in fanart, but i am asking white fans like myself in particular to think critically as to why, out of all the white characters and aliens on ds9, martok is the one you want to do that with.

because b’elanna is not a white character i think its a slightly different situation, but at the same time she does have lighter skin and i have seen fanart of her drawn much much darker and once again, im not condeming it especially in works ive seen which explore the relationship bewteen her latina and klingon identities, but its something white fans need to handle carefully. in the voyager episode Faces where she gets split into a human and klingon version of her (dont have time to unpack all that) you can see the difference in undertones between human b’elanna and klingon b’elanna (also included a pic of regular b’elanna for reference). the brown makeup is obvious here too and if you can see why it might be racist to attribute a person’s rage and violent impulses to a part of themself that is then personified as darker skinned/more brown, then you might also see some of the wider problems going on here and can understand that this is something that demands a lot of thought and consideration.

i’d like to reiterate that this is a very complex and nuanced issue, especially considering the intersection of fictional race within the setting and the racial biases operating behind the scenes/metatextually, and i’d love to discuss it more (and to cite better sources than youtube videos when i have the time). but for now i’d just like to say yeah just ask yourself what the implications might be to drawing these characters in particular darker than they are in canon, especially if theyre the only characters you do that for, or you’re intentionally contrasting them with other characters (e.g. b/7 fanart) or yk. drawing a white character darker than a character of colour like ive seen people do with julian and martok.

[runabout-river]

Wolf/Rabbit parallels between Yuji/Mahito and Megumi

Watching the anime, the end of the fight between Yuji and Mahito became prominent on my mind again. We see Mahito utterly defeated and running away for his life, slowly chased down by Yuji who promises him that he'll kill him without remorse now and every time he gets reborn.

The scene even gets an overlay of a snowed-in landscape, driving home the imagery of Mahito being chased as a rabbit, small and defenceless, by a big and white wolf. The anime adds some extra scenes into this e.g. by showing us a rabbit with a broken leg.

The representation of this turn in power dynamics is extremely visual (Mahito's new facial expressions, him running away, the split panel with Yuji on the left and Mahito on the right with Yuji's hitherto unseen cold demeanor that's Sukuna-like) with an extra metaphor added on top with the prey animal and predator.

It's really striking though that Gege decided to use this prey and this predator: a white rabbit and white wolf. Two animals mostly associated with Megumi. Yuji himself is mostly associated with a tiger.

For the above metaphor, the rabbit and the wolf are adversaries with an obvious showing of who kills who. For Megumi though the rabbit and the wolf are companions and two of his shikigami that are still alive - except with the white and black wolfs/dogs reversed.

If we were to try and apply this imagery and metaphor onto Megumi, we could come up with the theme that Megumi is his own and biggest enemy right now. His dog and his rabbit existed in harmony with each other but now there is internal strife caused by trauma that ripped those shikigami apart into a state of prey and predator.

If Megumi had been mentally stable (which is an impossibility after all the suffering he was pushed into) he could've reacted to Yuji entering his inner domain by retaking his body. But he's obviously in deep pain and resignation because of outside influences - Sukuna's torture.

Those influences most likely have also caused inner turmoil where Megumi's mind, his heart, his desires, his duties, his concience, everything is working against each other leading him to be in a state of powerlessness. His Cursed Technique and body have been literally used against him as well.

In the next chapters, Yuji and the others will try to bring Megumi to fight back and defeat Sukuna from the inside. From the looks of it, this will be a tough call because Megumi already lost his will to live. Whoever will take the lead on that help and who will contribute what is unimportant right now.

The thing is, even if/when Tsumiki's soul itself starts to talk to Megumi, he'll still be completely defeated because what he had cherrished and wanted the most in his life died at his hands and won't come back. Even if Megumi wanted to listen to Tsumiki and Yuji, parts of him won't get up from that floor he was trapped on for a month completely alone.

In the Mahito metaphor, Yuji is represented for some reason as a white wolf. The anime shows this better with additional black wolves at his side. Yuji's colour scheme, overall but especially in that fight, is black however.

The very first shikigami from Megumi that had been killed was his white wolf and that by Sukuna's Finger Bearer. When we apply the Yuji/Mahito metaphor to Megumi, the white/black inversion of colours becomes significant because it pulls Yuji - the white wolf - into Megumi's struggles.

It also pushes the fear that Yuji will be killed by Sukuna to the forefront. Megumi's metaphorical white wolf might get killed directly by Sukuna who had previously killed his literal white wolf indirectly.

There is also comfort there though when your first fallen friend spiritually guides you back to the light. Megumi just needs to see and understand that and finally find the conviction to live for himself without being bound down by Tsumiki and her death.

(The association between Yuji and Tiger Funeral though is also there. Tiger Funeral did not have a design reveal and I think Gege intentionally made that decision so Megumi could be the first to summon him right after Yuji saves him to show us their bond.)

[dislyteshack]

i need to gush about li xiao stuff or else

i love the like divergence you know?

when you first look at him you feel power from him from not only the pose but the attire and all. it all looks etheral

li xiao gives off an appearence of being untouchable but really hes hanging on by a thread.

you would think he has everything together, with how he holds himself. he fits in perfectly as someone else born into the highlife of tangton. the aspects feel practiced because since hes only adopted into the upperclass. of course he has to mimic the air of old money

OH YEAH its really cool how its practical too since based on limited info + tu he seems to be pretty hands on with his job and likely needs to move around alot so it makes sense for it to not only be fancy looking but also good for a fight. the sword also makes it clear he is willing and ready to fight which also ties into backstory stuff that would bleed into him

and! the sword based on someone i know who went clicking it looks like an anti cavalry sword used in the past by the chinese

i said it in a previous post but its actually this

its a changdao for anyone who didnt click

theres implications of him using it to go after bigger targets like maybe...

miramon

or espers.

plays into himnot being on top no matter what, politically or literally.

always the middle man , never anything more. only anything less. his outfit being not too extravagant like say councilor li in the new event shows this too. there's no billowing cape, no random cane , just his sword at his waist if he needs it. while li xiao is valued , hes just not ever valued more than others who have more inate power given to them

i love how hes in all white to symbolise purity of sorts. because thats how he attempts to come off as.

then theres the extra colours that act as a contrast to compliment the rest of his colourscheme otherwise the white is overwhelming.

the strips of black mar him+ the black in the shoes , it represents sins he cant be washed clean of because of what he undoubtedly commited and hes aware of that.

in certain symbolism black represents solemnity + its used as a representation of yin

whats extra cool is yun chuan wearing mostly black with stripes of white and li xiao in mostly white with strips of black. the yin yang symbolism there with the paths they ended going down is an inversion of their designs.

another thing is that using black in a certain way like copywrriting could conotate things like corruption and greed, things li xiao definately ended up bending to in a way

i also really like the red that could either be seen as xiao simply matching with the rest of the radiant guard or as a represenation of the blood on his hands indirectly from the false alarm or more directly with him allowing the experiments to take place. facliating their continuation

red in symbolism can actually be one of destruction or good fortune. honestly it fits with li xiao's life technically having good fortune since his talent was noticed by the li clan while also showing the self destruction that did him in

then theres my fav part which are his eyes which are either scarlet or reddish orange im not too sure but either way.

AIGHT also the bits of green in his belt might be a decoration but! just to put this down

green also has conatations with purity

intresting how alot of what goes into xiao's design attempts to potray purity + his actions (trying to atone/ fufil chuan's promise by unironically trying to change tangton for the better) but in the end that illusion is shattered in truth unveiled.

Ngl I think it's the themes of attempted purity in li xiao that endears me to him alot because I feel chronic guilt in a way it's very therapeutic to talk about him

Because I like unpacking what an extreme he is and his actions.

There's a very clear tragedy there in that he could have just been a plain good person albeit forgettable

The hook of the story of truth unveiled to me personally is while also highlighting the justice system and different ways of dealing with it there's also that other side where even if you wanted to gain powers to cut it at the nip you just can't if you aren't born into it

Maybe I'm just a bleeding heart for clinging to the tragedy of it all instead of moving on as the games themes encourage but it's always nagging at me

[celestialholz]

The Anatomy of an Outfit (aka 'holy fucking Continuum THE LOOK™)

Y'all know I haven't seen a single STP episode since 2.9. I would rather gargle with acid than go near this show ever again frankly, but, well...

... Good sweet sanctuary what the fucking hell is THIS. :O (@tennant, clearly a fellow appreciator of all things ancient god, must be thanked profusely for these glorious few shots I'm about to show off. <3)

I called this lovely, lovely man returning about ten minutes after he 'died', but I don't think any of us were expecting his outfit to slay THIS HARD when he did. And not only is it the sexiest thing my fortunate eyes have ever had the pleasure to absorb, but it also happens to be very, er... well let's be real here, it's ridiculously Qcard-coded.

Let's break it down, shall we?

We'll start with the obvious: it's maroon and black. This look appears to be a mad fusion of his Encounter at Farpoint judge robes (which is fair, we end as we begin), and his husband of forty years' captain's uniform. That piped shoulder's hugely reminding me of this, in fact:

It's the inverse! You know, the same look, flipped? Because they have perfectly distinct personalities but are also mega gay???? Costume department allies fr.

The delightfully dramatic sash Q's rocking is also interesting - it places maroon at the centre of the outfit, and is its grandest statement, which makes it an excellent example of the importance of the colour to its wearer. This is the clothing equivalent of him having mon capitaine tattooed across his essence, which... well yeah, valid. Canonical facts. It's worn across virtually his whole chest, too, because nothing says 'that's my husband' more than having him literally held against your heart.

It's a different era of captain, across two shoulders - the old teasing, and the new love.

Also, this fucking brooch.

Now, whilst I doubt they've given even John de Lancie a piece made of actual rubies for a fifteen-second scene, the stones here are very clearly meant to evoke them. And rubies are interesting for several reasons:

They're Picard's birthstone, his birthday being July 13th;

They're symbolic of power and protection. What follows is some of the interesting info I've picked up from internet gemology on rubies:

... Huh. Resolve disputes. 'Dispel anger,' when we've seen a darker Q in this series. And 'protective powers'... mm, how many times has Q saved Picard's life again? What did we get up to, six?

... 'Romantic love.' 'Devotion.' Uh-huh.

This brooch is also evocative of the Navaratna, or this thing:

The brooch itself is clearly stylised, but it features eight gems orbiting a central larger ruby (which is meant to be the sun by the way, as though this motherfucker wasn't already evocative ENOUGH of the sun here or here), and is an important cultural and religious symbol in Hinduism. What's it symbolic of, exactly?

... Oh, nothing much. Just... just this.

... Like I said, nothing much, just the whole concept of Qcard in fucking jewellery form.

The brooch's also, as the wife @porgthespacepenguin pointed out, an eight-pointed star.

... Have I mentioned yet that I fucking detest this show? Because I really fucking detest this show.

There's nine rubies on it, as well. Picard's in his nineties.

So, let's recap:

Nine of Picard's birthstone for his ninety years

Sun symbolism, AGAIN

Celestial relationships

Beyond space and time

Romance

Prosperity

Protection

Resolution

So, all that, from a brooch worn over an outfit that looks suspiciously like Picard's, which has a sash across it in Picard's colour.

... And I'm supposed to believe that Qcard isn't endgame? You're really going to gaslight me to this degree right in front of my salad, you absolute bastards????

Guys, when you inevitably wipe this shitshow of a Star Trek from your collective minds like I'm about to do, just... take this with you. Take the fact that everything about this outfit and this SHOW has said all along that Qcard is endgame, until they couldn't be arsed. Until they lost their balls for the pathetic few who might have naysayed it.

Patrick, and certainly John, deserved so much better. I'm glad that at least someone on this set understands that. (I see you, costumers. I see you, and I love you.)

Just going to... just going to stare at the absolute fine-aged wine of a man that is John de Lancie for a moment, before I lose my whole shit. He calms my soul, you see.

HIT THE SLAY KING JOHN <3

[completeoveranalysis]

[1]

Chapitre 188 - The Ruins on That Day

The splash text reads:

Wounds that do not heal, a Light that I cannot see

Onwards... Even so, I just keep moving onwards

And ohhh this is so striking!

This is the cover that slaps you in the face with what it wants you to be looking at. All the lines and angles draw the visual focus directly to Lava Lamp’s eye as he stares directly back. It’s quite the confronting moment. It’s defiant. It calls back to the heavy lidded focus he had when he was still missing part of his soul and hadn’t had the chance to be anything other than his goals for years and years of his life. And arguably this is still the case, but with slight windows of characterisation opening up every now and again, almost against his will - which is very much in line with the splash text. Lava Lamp has dedicated himself to this existence of SUFFERING in order to fix [the big important something], and he would seemingly trade away any part of himself to make it happen and see it as more than a fair trade. Or more than that. He sees his suffering as irrelevant. He sees his suffering as something that must happen, and he will pay it again and again until he achieves his goal.

But all that aside! Here in the image the stark contrast of light and dark gives us the Full Syaoran Imagery Experience, especially when combined with the inversed colours in the background. The play of black and white against each other is trying to evoke the conflict between the Syaorans and just how different they are - and the focus on the eye in particular is hammering this home. Because what IS his eye here, other than a dark circle with a smaller circle of white within? It’s a banner showing his half of the yin yang symbol and a call back to everything this is a metaphor to. 

And on a more story level, the Evil Wolverine Magic Prison Lines are here as a timely reminder of what happened to Lava Lamp so that we’re thinking about it while we finally get to visit the Clow Ruins and presumably find out more about that all happened in the first place. 

Which I can’t wait to see :D

[themanwhomadeamonster]

DD2 crackpot observations: the Rift vs the Dragonsplague, Nihilism, and the Moon/Eclipse/Eyes

Brainstorming a bit about repeating motifs and speculating stuff about the plot. Thanks to loremaster @whitefoxes for providing me some insight on the stuff here and fact-checking hehe

The Rift and Dragonsplague

To start off, this time around DD2 has smoothed out aesthetic associations with the Rift, namely everything to do with the Rift is now cyan. Ferrystones are cyan and cause a blue flash when thrown instead of being black and having a golden flash. Portcrystals are also cyan instead of purple, and the Rift is a cyan-coloured fog now as well instead of the vague blue. What I presume is the foggy path towards Bluemoon Tower (itself obscured by fog) hinted in some shot sequences in the trailers are also a dim cyan. The Lambent Flame itself is the same cyan as the Rift. This makes me think that the Pathfinder is also a Rift entity.

I think the Lambent Flame may be the key to curing Pawns from their Dragonsplague affliction. "Lambent" means a soft and flickering flame, but it also means to be witty without being unkind, the opposite of what the Dragonsplague does to Pawns ("bold in their speech and behaviour"). In Japanese the Lambent Flame is called the "Flame of Blessing/Protection", against the Calamity of what Pawns can bring, so I think the Lambent Flame is what will help us against the Big Bad.

(Side note I think the Moon is associated with the colour blue as well, but rather a dimmer blue like the one shown in Bluemoon Tower and in the trailer behind the Dragonsplague)

Dragonsplague seems to be a symptom of the Calamity (which seems to have happened before, judging by how fearful the Battahl people are of Pawns and their capabilities as well as their folklore), and is affecting Pawns' behaviour to act out aggressively and boldly, unusual when they're supposed to obedient towards the Arisen as their will is an extension of the Arisen's own - they're beginning to act independently. Normally, the appearance of a Dragonsplagued Pawn resembles a possessed Pawn, where their Arisen's will is temporarily replaced by a Dragon's (interestingly here, Possession shows both colour motifs - light blue and red).

So where did their newfound confidence and self-determination come from?

Nihilism

While nihilism in the first game was more of a philosophy well-accepted and relatively stable by the Seneschal that nothing is inherently meaningful except for the Cycle that pushes this system, it's still upheld by a human. Humans no matter how strong their will are imperfect. So what if the collapse of one's will - perhaps a Seneschal's own is what's causing everything to come down? The Dragonsplague and the Calamity are symptoms of a Seneschal breaking down. But how does a lack of will drive a Pawn to act out? It could just be an inversion of what's typical of a Pawn, or it could be a self-destructive drive reflecting the crisis of the Seneschal.

In the action trailer, there is heavy emphasis of tempering your will by several characters. There's a voiceover of someone straining to speak telling you to "Make manifest your will that at last this world might-", Vermund's ex-Oracle Luz telling you to "Hold fast to your will", and the Red Dragon saying, "Thy will, thy soul, these are all the means thou hast to carve thy path anew." These lines are making me think that the world is in fact breaking down due to the will of the world (i.e. the Seneschal) collapsing. Nihilism can't hold for everyone no matter how strong your will is - when the Seneschal was faced with the existential dread that told them that the world was meaningless, that there was only a cold indifferent stare of the universe watching down on them, this is the result.

The Moon/Eclipse/Eye motifs

In the previous game, the Moon seems to be associated with being the domain of the Gods, the Bluemoon Tower was supposed to be a Nexus to the Moon where you'd fight the Seneschal. The game over screen is represented by a void resembling an Eclipse, outlined in red - the inversion of the Rift's light blue. Considering that the Moon is supposed to be home of the Seneschal, the will of the world, an Eclipse could symbolise the last thing a Seneschal wants in themselves: nothing. Or, nihilism. A lack of will for the world. The Eclipse on the death screen was the abyss, the "truth you'll find staring back from this world's utmost depths."

This goes back to the motifs of eyes. The Eclipse in the game over screen not only depicts the inversion of the Rift, but an actual eye. Eye motifs are present throughout the game, including in armour especially the iconic armour of DD2, this sort of thing wasn't present back in DD1. Grigori, the speculated name that is dropped in Wyrmspeak during the beginning cutscene of the Red Dragon from DD1 means "Watchful". Talos also has the same bright red eye as Dragonsplagued Pawns. The Brine is also a similar colour to Talos' plume and the "aura" from Dragonsplagued/Possessed pawns. Makes me wonder about what powers Talos as an automaton and its relation to the Brine, since Talos in the myths circled the shores of Crete (in this case, Talos approaches the Bluemoon Tower). And that makes me wonder if the Brine is related to everything else.

On top of this, there's a particular quote at the end of the trailer: "Yet your wicked schemes will avail you not, Watching One." Who else could be responsible for watching over the world, if not the Seneschal? Outside of the politics between Vermund and Battahl, in DD2, the big bad isn't just another Seneschal, it's a Seneschal who wants to destroy this world.

[sho-minamimoto]

neo neku's ntwewy design is so whatever for me the gatto nero jacket idea is cute and all but idk he looks so sauceless to me. It felt like the only Distinguishing design element they brought back was the colour scheme and nothing else. the other outfits he had in the concept art book looked so so much better and more like him im so upset they didnt use any of these

more rambling abt nekus outfit under the cut i didnt meant to type this much

ok after looking at these side by side i think i pinpointed why i dislike neo neku's design so much and like his concepts a lot better

his neo design is so utterly uninteresting to me and devoid of any personality and uniqueness he had in his previous design and a lot of it has to do with the plaid jacket. Both in that it looks ugly and feels incongruous to his character but also in that it feels like a band aid fix to add some visual interest to his design bc literally everything else is so boring.

like, take away the jacket, and hes just wearing Solid Colour purple shirt with Solid Colour black pants. beyond the story/sentimental element the jacket itself as a pure design choice doesn't really say anything about him as a character it feels so generic and plain.

in his og design theres a cohesive element with the way stripes are used in his weird collar shirt and the pockets of his shorts, and you can definitely pick out that he has an attitude + is individualistic with his sense of style. i get that they wanted to update his design in neo to both incorporate a Better fashion sense (bc of shiki's influence) and show his maturity while keeping the same visual elements of his old design, but i feel like the concept designs do that job much better, AND they look way cooler.

they look more subdued than his og design and stand out less (what with them being mostly black + white and having purple and yellow as accent colours) but still maintain the stripes motif and have more visual interest than his official neo design. i like how he layers his shorts over some leggings in the first concept to the far left, and the way the pants arent completely solid black + have very slight tone variation is neat too.

but the standout is ofc the jacket, the first one on the left isnt half bad and i like how they have some layering going on there too but the ones used in the other two is really slick-looking to me. i love how this would've been an inverse of neku's og design in that he has a white top (jacket) with black pants when it was the other way around in his younger design. maybe they tried to achieve the same effect with the design they went with but bc of the plaid + how grey it is it doesn't come across as strong imo.

also the concept art looks like og neku's shoes but way less goofy and neo neku's shoes are just kind of dull in comparison.

[manicali]

As per my last post, now I have to post this character

So

This is Gene, my Hazbin Oc. They’re a dragonfly, because I saw one crash land and die in my yard a couple days ago, it was huge and my cat ate it, so I decided to immortalize his memory into an OC. He’s also a music based demon, because stayed gone started playing while i was drawing him and I thought, yeah, that sounds cool.

LORE! Warning, me and my brother came up with this and neither of us ever know what were talking about.

Anyway, he’s in hell for murders, two of em. One was when he was nine, he drowned a playmate, and nothing happened due to the surprising stupidity of the police (based on not one, but several true stories.) the second is how he died. He was kidnapped, killed the guy, burned the place down and killed himself, simultaneously disposing of all evidence. Yay, crime.

His life in hell consists of three things: his job, an IT guy, he works for Vox, sleeping, and making deals.

He stumbled upon one of those crystal thingys that the succubi have (I don’t know how they work and I don’t care) and started helping sinners escape the Pride ring, for a price. That being their souls. (Note, he also helps them get back. Usually) anyways, nobody knows who he is, because he doesn’t tell people who has their souls. Eventually he becomes a recognized problem by other overlords.

Oh, an idea i had for him, because he is just my obsession with music personified, is that music that shows his thoughts is always playing around him. The only control he has is volume. Because in his life his main focus was being unnoticed. He was very stealthy, staying out of sight. Now he’s a glowing music demon who can’t really lie if people figure out his music thing. Because I’m mean

Edit: I had another idea. AKA more projecting onto my ocs. So Gene ABSOLUTELY HATES BUGS. Particularly the repugnant creatures that seen to inhabit all of hell. So he is constantly bugspraying everything. But he’s a dragonfly so that would make him sick like all the time. So yeah he’s usually high and or dizzy from the copious bug spray.

Edit: MORE PROJECTION ONTO MY OC TO THE POINT WHERE ITS A SELF INSERT!!! He can’t make faces normally. This isn’t even like a cruel thing for his crimes I just can’t make faces normally If i smile i look like i will eat you, which I love because it’s funny

Edit again: When he makes a deal, or like does cool demon shit colour inverts. Why? Because i was playing with a colour inversion filter on ibspaint

And that is the needlessly over complicated, and quite honestly self indulgent dumb lore of Gene.

[bitter-sweet-coffee]

only a little shade to sonadows (no ill intent) but like. out of all of sonic’s rivalries you cannot deny that sonic and jet did it RIGHT. knuckles and sonic have cool parallels. shadow was literally made to be a reflection

but jet??? jet is an INVERSION. no, literally, that was the plan it’s why his colour scheme is swapped. jet is literally another sonic but if he was Some Guy instead of a famous hero. normal au sonic is just jet and i LOVE it. they have the same personality same charisma same stubbornness same need for speed same arrogance AND YET!!! jet’s relationship with his team isn’t opposite, just shadier than with sonic. jet in general is shadier than sonic. he’s more spoiled and greedy but when push comes to shove, he’s a bit of a hero too

and. OAUFBDKSKFUJFJNFFJJ. i’m not saying you need to be identical for a rival, but the gayness??? hello!!! the playful banter never ends because they’re the same archetype and everything, they’ll always bounce off of one another and relate like no other character can AND YET be abrasive and different enough.

wanna know why they still fight? because the kind of character they are doesnt like when there’s more than one of themselves. there can only be ONE. knuckles and sonic are two sides of a coin. shadow and sonic are two sides of the same coin. sonic and jet are the SAME side of the coin but two separate coins. and they need to be unique

anyways this is why sonjet will always be the best rival ship for sonic imo like you cannot fucking beat these guys