sketches from my visit to Finland
May 4 - Sibelius Park and monument
May 5 - Suomenlinna Sea Fortress
YOU ARE THE REASON

Origami Around
Claire Keane
i don't do bad sauce passes

ellievsbear
ojovivo

roma★

JVL
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
sheepfilms
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
Peter Solarz

blake kathryn
trying on a metaphor
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
NASA
art blog(derogatory)
d e v o n
$LAYYYTER
Game of Thrones Daily
seen from Pakistan

seen from Türkiye
seen from China

seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Germany
seen from Belgium

seen from United States

seen from Italy

seen from Malaysia

seen from Singapore
seen from Australia

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from China
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seen from Thailand
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seen from Panama
@thaisibir
sketches from my visit to Finland
May 4 - Sibelius Park and monument
May 5 - Suomenlinna Sea Fortress
Crunchyroll may have taken Claymore away, but my Claymore complete series on blu ray ain't going anywhere. Plus the little book it comes with has collected some English VA signatures. That's why physical media is king.
Aimer CD haul from Osaka
Aimer has been my favorite Jpop artist for 5 years. I know almost all her music is on Spotify (where I listen to 99% of my music) but lately I've been collecting CDs of artists and franchises I really love. It wasn't hard to find her albums at Tower Records in Osaka, she's got a whole row, and then some. Coming from the US, I saved about $70 buying these CDs from Japan vs buying them as imports. (Tax refund with passport + no tariffs + taking advantage of the weaker yen) At checkout, the cashier gave me a freebie Shinobu sticker, I assume as promotional bonus with the release of that Demon Slayer album. Shinobu is my favorite Demon Slayer character, so definitely a cherry on top.
Aimer has a lot of great songs, but if I had to pick a single favorite song of hers, it's StarRingChild. Something about the vocals and instruments in that one really resonates with me. Anyway, just wanted to share how happy I am to get my hands on Aimer albums on my first visit to Japan.
Watching Demon Slayer as a healthcare professional: appreciating the little details
Welcome to my medical nerd-out post. If you’re interested in the intersection of real-world medical practice and what’s shown in these scenes, read on! Disclaimer that my current background is in anesthesia, and I previously worked in emergency medicine.
(I’m going to cosplay Shinobu at cons later this year and this will be the sign I’ll print and tape to the back of my costume. I feel like this is a very Shinobu thing to say.)
I brought Demon Slayer's resident toxicologist to a venom conference hosted by the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation (which I'm a member of as a healthcare worker). Modern AU Shinobu would absolutely geek out over this event.
This. This scene made me decide Shinobu is my favorite character in Demon Slayer.
Art imitates life. Shinobu's angry smile perfectly captures enduring the day-to-day shenanigans and BS as a healthcare worker. She's in the medical field herself, she gets it.
Speaking from my specific perspective as an anesthetist, I occasionally deal with difficult surgeons, nurses, and patients, and when some patients in certain cases need to be sedated/somewhat awake/not totally knocked out with general anesthesia, you have to be cognizant of what you say and do. And as an Asian woman, I've been a target of sexist and racist comments from patients before. I've managed anesthesia for convicted criminals, murderers, sex offenders, thugs covered in white supremacist tattoos, etc. I gotta put on a smile through all of it to keep the peace and maintain professionalism, even when I'm seething with rage or frustration inside.
Shinobu totally gets it. Her facade ultimately comes from a different source, but speaking from experience, I'm more than sure that she applies that same attempt at a coping mechanism in her medical work.
Doodled my favorite Demon Slayer character at work because I'm still not over Infinity Castle
(As an anesthetist I love medical fictional characters, so Shinobu in all her team mom energy + unhinged sassiness became an instant favorite)
Thoughts/musings on Nimue
I've been revisiting Xenoblade Chronicles 3 via NG+ after completing it the 1st time a year and a half ago, and a thought struck me: how did Nimue, someone from a peaceful colony isolated from normal contact (let alone fighting), rise to power as another colony's military strategist and its commander's right-hand woman?
I like to think that Isurd saw her potential during his time recovering at the Lost Colony, like he played a strategy board game or something with her and she turned out to have a talent for tactics.
The idea of "sleeping your way to the top" likely doesn't even compute with these Agnian and Kevesi soldiers who have no concept of things like romance. So they wouldn't be thinking and saying stuff like that. But I assume there was likely still initial skepticism, maybe even resentment, at the time Nimue first joined Isurd's colony. I doubt they would have accepted some random girl Isurd brought in as their strategist right off the bat. She probably had to prove herself through a fair share of battles against Keves to earn respect from Colony Lambda and earn her place as its strategist, and prove that Isurd's high regard of her isn't unfounded.
That made me think that's partly why Nimue regards Taion with fondness and compassion. Maybe by seeing him struggle as a budding tactician and getting pushback from his peers, it reminds Nimue of her own struggles with assimilating into Colony Lambda.
Anyway maybe I'm rambling at this point. I love to fill in room between the lines for interpretation of minor characters I like.
When you're carrying around at work the resident petty vindictive tsundere of Unicorn Overlord but patients and coworkers say "I like the pretty angel on your badge." (art and keychain by MorVertCrafts)
In a way, Naamah is canonically a dog person. She has Glasya-Labolas at her beck and call. Agrat definitely seems like a cat person. Lilith is canonically a snake person. Eisheth is a people person. As in an I-love-ripping-off-limbs-and-eyes-from-people person.
Basically Persona 3
Nahobino more like Nahobi-need knee replacement
Did Agrat pulled a time travel and meet King David?
Agrat is an ancient demon, so I don't think she needs to time travel and it's very possible she was around when David was alive. Multiple Jewish texts state that Agrat is the mother of Asmodeus, not Naamah, but for some reason Vengeance lore says otherwise. According to some of those texts, Agrat spent a night with David to bear Asmodeus. I like to think of it a little differently, so here's my fan reinterpretation:
Agrat and David met and knew each other during the time he was a boy in his late teens, before he became king and around the time he had to slay Goliath. As a newly minted Qadištu at the time and Lilith's daughter, Agrat was pressured by Lilith to find someone to sire an heir, preferably someone kingly to equal Agrat's lofty status as a queen of demons.
She traveled to the human world in human disguise and wandered in her travels until she found David, who at first glance looked like a lowly shepherd boy, but with her divination she foresaw his destiny to become a great king. Initially she got acquainted with him as a means to an end, but eventually they developed genuine love for each other. It was Agrat who advised David how to kill Goliath and gave him the encouragement he needed to be a brave leader.
Once Agrat became pregnant, however, Lilith commanded her to return to the netherworld, cut ties with David, and wipe his memory of her existence. Agrat had no choice but to obey. On the day David killed Goliath, Agrat wiped his memory and returned to the netherworld to give birth to their son Asmodeus and raise him as a prince of demons.
Asmodeus grew up not hearing and knowing much about his father. Agrat is reluctant to talk about David beyond brief mentions, because deep down she still carries the heartbreak of leaving him and being forgotten. As a demon, Agrat is no stranger to seducing and exploiting humans to her benefit, but David was the only one she truly loved.
Centuries later, the Nahobino reminds her of David, and that's why in some of her demon haunt conversations she implies feelings for him and likes the thought of him being the king to her queen in ruling demons.
So yeah, that's my spiel on Agrat x David.
Proof that Agrat is an anesthesia provider (kidding kind of)
Currently I'm playing SMT V Vengeance as the main way to destress after work. This line from Agrat in the first pic basically describes what I do for a living (delivering and managing anesthesia in the operating room).
Makes people feel sluggish and sleepy. Has to "titrate to effect," delivering just the right doses, so nobody dies. Administration of magic/medicine can still lead to some undesirable side effects. Most importantly, she sits in (an invisible) chair. She checks all the boxes. Agrat is an anesthetist. Tao even pulls the classic "blame anesthesia" move ("It was you...all those people. You made them all sick!")
Like a lot of people, I adore Agrat's skeleton-doll-witch hybrid design, her being voiced by the queen Cherami Leigh (who voices my other fav Makoto Niijima), and how she's a crit beast in gameplay. Wanted to add here my own reason to gush over my favorite character in this game. How Agrat reminds me of my line of work makes me like her even more.
P.S: Eisheth is the surgeon. (Now I'm imagining the utter chaos of the Qadištu working as an operating room team)
Silly Qadištu family headcanons
(Disclaimer that some of these headcanons go against SMT V Vengeance lore, as I'm drawing from various sources texts on Jewish mysticism and mythology that say otherwise. Demons are slippery things, open to many different interpretations.)
-Being ancient and well-learned demons, the Qadištu speak and understand a great number of languages, though their native tongue is Hebrew.
-Lilith and Agrat are mother and daughter. Naamah is Lilith's younger sister, therefore Agrat's aunt. Eisheth is Naamah's favorite lover. They take the crown for being Da'at's darkest, weirdest, most dysfunctional family.
-Agrat's full name is Agrat Bat Mahlat because despite Lilith being her biological mother, Agrat spent her early years raised by a foster mother and demon named Mahlat. Lilith wanted proof that her offspring would in time become strong and worthy before welcoming Agrat as one of the Qadištu.
-With her love of rainy weather and talent for dancing, Agrat lives up to her nickname as the "demon dancing on the roof" by spending her free time tap dancing somewhere up high, happily twirling her umbrella under a shower of rain.
-Eisheth loves to carve works of art with her absurdly long nails on all kinds of surfaces. The fleshier the better, of course.
-Eisheth has the soul of an artist. In her free time she travels to the human world in disguise to visit art museums and admire the greats.
-Eisheth is also a culinary connoisseur and has a vast appetite. Naamah is convinced that Eisheth's stomach is a bottomless void somehow connected to a black hole somewhere in the universe. One time Eisheth was challenged by the rest of the Qadištu to an eating contest. Even combined, the three of them still lost.
-Agrat enchanted her hat so it stays on her head at all times, even through blustering winds and howling blizzards.
-Agrat and Eisheth fight like cats and dogs, Agrat using every chance she gets to piss off and egg on Eisheth (a very easy target), while Eisheth constantly calls her whelp, kid or brat, and hardly ever refers to Agrat by her proper name.
-As the oldest, Lilith is the matriarch and the glue keeping the Qadištu together all these years, acting as peacemaker whenever the other three get into petty spats.
-Agrat has a son named Asmodeus, who she had with David before he became the king of Israel. Being half-demon, he ages very slowly. He has lived for hundreds of years but appears physically nine or ten years old. He has a penchant for impish mischief and can have nasty temper flare-ups (literally, complete with hair and eyes on fire), but also has razor-sharp cunning and intellect that make his mother proud. He goes by his nickname Mo when referred to with affection and endearment.
-Unlike most demons who entirely leave their offspring to fend for themselves, Agrat has been invested with educating and caring for Asmodeus since his birth, due to the unusual attachment she feels for his father David. She teaches Mo everything from magic and music to the ways of the demon and human worlds.
-The only thing that annoys Eisheth more than Agrat ("Whelp") is Mo ("Whelp Jr.") Whenever they're in the same room, Eisheth says dramatically "Oh Goddess there's two of them."
-Naamah has had so many lovers and demonic offspring over the centuries that she can't bother to keep track of them and remember all their names. Eisheth being the exception, of course. Their dates typically consist of human killing sprees.
-Naamah has no interest in protecting and raising her own children, but dotes on her grand-nephew Mo and encourages his attempts at pulling pranks. It won't happen anytime soon (give or take a few centuries), but she looks forward to the time he's matured and grown so she can teach him how to be the ultimate ladies' man.
-Lilith dotes on her faithful snake companion, who is never far from her and in turn closely protects his mistress. She likes to feed him live prey and doesn't mind the bloody mess he makes when he's crunching into something over her shoulder.
-Out of the four, Agrat is the most scholarly and especially knowledgeable in medicine and disease. She's more interested in the knowledge and application of diseases, of course.
-Out of the four, Naamah is the most knowledgable and invested in cosmetics. She keeps a huge secret stash of makeup that she refuses to share with her fellow Qadištu. Her love and sharp eye for good aesthetic is why she and Eisheth get along so well.
-Eisheth somersaults in place midair when she's bored.
After 100+ hours I finished my first playthrough of Unicorn Overlord today and here are my (very) scattered thoughts, opinions, and reactions (spoilers ahead):
-Melisandre is best girl and was my ring of the maiden choice. From the start she cracked me up over how she has it down BAD for Alain (and even straight up tells him as much). Their last rapport was really touching and sealed the deal for me to give her the ring. She leads my swordfighter unit and was my go-to with holding down the fort at the command post.
-On the other hand, Scarlett just didn't quite work for me as a romantic interest. I don't sense a lot of natural chemistry in her interactions with Alain, despite the game seeming to push the player in her direction. Fiora from Xenoblade Chronicles was another main girl/childhood friend archetype, but I liked her a lot more. Maybe I have a weakness for girls with dual swords. I will say that I like Scarlett as a healer in gameplay and in rapports with other characters (that don't have to do with petty jealousy and rivalry with other girls). Just not a fan of her as a romance option for Alain.
-Virginia is another very cool character and absolutely kills it in my Hilda-led, real damage-dealing all-girls unit. I've never seen her fall, like ever. She may be slow but she knows how to take hits like a tank and dish out real damage.
-Same with Berengaria and Hilda. Really cool designs, real tough badasses, reliable fighters that always crush everything in their path. Love the sibling dynamics they have with Travis and Primm, respectively.
-I tend to suddenly obsess over very minor characters and in Unicorn Overlord, Raenys became the one. She comes in so late into the game, but her VA gives her a fantastic voice and she succeeded Ochlys to lead my alpha strike angel unit in late game, since she can fly plus provide arrow assist.
-I love talking animal characters, so Bastorias naturally became my favorite country to explore. The bestral unit led by Morard became one of my best hard hitters in late game. They're my night strike team.
-Character design is very hit and miss for me, particularly the women. Some like Virginia and Berengaria look absolutely cool and it certainly helps that their armor looks reasonable, but others make no sense and look absurd like Amalia's steel armor underwear.
-Sharon x Ochlys is my non-Alain OTP. They're so cute together and it's so painfully obvious they have a thing for each other. Romancing any of them as Alain felt wrong to me.
-My other crack OTP: Selvie x Bruno's gluts. Their rapport had me rolling on the floor.
-"I hope you get little eggshells in your omelettes for the rest of your life" from Nina is my new favorite insult.
-The localized writing/script sometimes feels needlessly embellished and elevated. Some of it is okay, but I feel like they overdo it at times. It's like seasoning with spices: sprinkle here and there for flavor, don't throw in so much that it just becomes overwhelming. I suspect they took inspiration from fantasy staples like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, among other things.
-Foraging and collecting stuff in overworld is lowkey kinda addicting. When I see a blue shiny light from the ground, I have to run over to collect it.
-The graphics for the rapport building meals look incredibly delectable. Someone should make a little cookbook on all the recipes.
Sae headcanon I came up with to make myself sad:
Mrs. Niijima had succumbed to postpartum hemorrhage just a few days after delivering Makoto. Eight year-old Sae was by her mother's bedside, and her father was away to check on baby Makoto in the NICU, when the vitals suddenly plummeted and her mother lost consciousness. Sae was jostled aside by doctors and nurses to a corner of the room in their rush to perform lifesaving interventions, which ultimately failed. After several minutes of being barred from the room, Mr. Niijima was finally able to break through to retrieve his terrified, petrified daughter, who was left forgotten in the chaos. He pulled Sae aside to console her and shield her from the sights and sounds of the crisis, but the damage was already done. Sae was left with a strong, deep-seated fear and hatred of hospitals. The idea of having children herself takes her back to that traumatic day she witnessed losing her mother. Despite this, she doesn't blame Makoto at all for their mother's death.
Sae was more than academically capable to go through medical school and become a physician. She just has absolutely no interest in the field.