I Am Sorry

Street Artist Transforms Ordinary Public Places Into Funny Installations 

michael-pederson miguel-marquez

A modern day AU where Clive is a lonely researcher and Jason works part time at a dumpling soup shop and at an office supply store.

Clive only goes out for three things - food, office supplies, and basic necessities. Somehow he runs into Jason doing all three of these. And somehow, the chef/server who will let Clive rant about his research, coworkers, the university (all while looking very interested), remembers his name and says hi to him every time they see each other.

fhgdsrardf

quick twitter request ;^)

FAVE CHARACTER LIST (15/?)

↪ Cecil Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale)

“Kill it with kindness, and if that doesn’t work, kill it with sharp sticks and knives.”

maybe don’t hire Martin

crow king

Chapter 123 (Words I Couldn't Say)

It’s rare that I can pinpoint a favorite chapter in a manga, but I’ve poured over this series like a religious scholar for about two years, so I can confidently state that my favorite is chapter 195. Yeah, I know that isn’t the chapter I’m supposed to be talking about, but I’m not going to lie for points. If you search irumeanie on tumblr, a good half of the posts that show up are mine, so there’s really no point in trying to make myself look better. However, I can also state, with equal confidence, that the most important chapter in the series (as of now at 262) is 123, when everything that Iruma had been repressing up to that point can’t be held back any longer and bursts free. I mentioned earlier that the Harvest Festival contains what I believe to be the most emotionally cathartic scene in the series, and this is what I’m talking about. Despite how expressive he is, Iruma really isn’t that open with his feelings. I’ve already discussed how Iruma lacked desire or ambition early on in the series, but there have been other similar incidents such as at Walter Park when it takes several pages for Iruma to understand he’s upset, indicating severe emotional repression. Overcoming this repression is Iruma’s first major step in his overall character arc, which occurs in this chapter (conveniently titled “words I couldn’t say”) meaning that by the end of the Harvest Festival he’s entered a new leg of his journey. And it shows. The Iruma we see post-Harvest Festival is fundamentally different than the one we see before. He voices his desires proudly and is even referred to as having bottomless greed, while retaining his kind nature, which is all possible because of this one chapter.

Orobas has a tricky ability. The initial illusion is bad enough, but the greater the opponent’s trauma is, the higher the likelihood is of having lingering effects in the form of more illusions. Both Jazz and Clara’s experience with Orobas’ illusions only last a few pages and just end with them shaken up. Iruma faces the illusions for almost the entirety of three chapters. After he falls from the shock of seeing his parents and hurting his leg, the illusion shifts, getting closer to his true fear. It starts with Asmodeus and Clara abandoning him for being human, accusing him of lying and basically saying that everything he did was fake. Next, it’s Kalego that appears and tells him that as a human, he doesn’t belong in the underworld. Then finally his grandfather and Opera-san enter, the two demons who originally knew about his identity, who rescued him and gave him the home he never had before. And just like the others, they send him back to his parents too. It’s not just one more illusion. He sees at least four, not counting the horrific monsters that the illusions eventually shift into. What Iruma is facing is 14 years of non-stop trauma with the added fear that the relief he only just got from it will be ripped away from him.

Trapped in his worst nightmare, Iruma is forced to confront the feelings he’s been trying to hide his whole life. He spent his whole childhood alone without any meaningful connections and was fine with it because all he could do was focus on survival. Reading between the lines, what Iruma is saying is that he convinced himself his feelings didn’t matter, and he did this for so long that even when he found a loving home, he subconsciously continued to keep his true emotions buried, hardly recognizing them in himself. But, faced with the prospect of losing everything he’s gained, of returning to that unending isolation, Iruma can’t stop himself from breaking his self-imposed rule.

“I’m lonely.” For all his complexity as a character, Iruma can be broken into just these two words. Everything he’s been repressing and everything that’s driven him thus far in the story is encapsulated by the intense loneliness he lives with, and it’s delivered in the two most heart wrenching panels. No amount of danger is going to make him give into despair, his defense is too well trained, but the threat of losing everything while completely isolated breaks him instantly. He could ignore it when he had nothing to lose, but now there’s so much he wants to hold onto that he can’t handle being alone again. And that brings us back to Iruma’s desire to belong. He voices this desire a few different ways, from embarrassing to grandiose, but the true feelings behind it boils down to what he say in that second panel. The sense of belonging he yearns for stems from his fear of being left behind, tragically demonstrated by the focus pulling out to show his curled form, looking tiny in the large open space. It’s shown that his parents left him alone all the time until they needed him again, so it’s only natural that from the very depths of his soul, Iruma would fear his newfound family and friends no longer wanting him, but he also feels like he shouldn’t voice this fear, which ended up amplifying that aching loneliness.

Ultimately though, this is a hopeful series, and one final illusion of Bachiko reminds Iruma of what he learned during his training. Technically, this panels are from chapter 124, but it’s a continuation of chapter 123, and the positive parts of this series are just as important to cover as the negative. It’s important that Iruma didn’t give into despair. He remembers his training as an archer, and that he can pierce through all his hardships, so he stands up even as he’s still in tears and his leg is killing him, because all he wants is to stay with the people he cares about.

<prev | next>

CAMP SGRUB: KARKAT THIRST BRANCH

The official, never-expiring link for the new Karkat Thirst server, newly remade by the mod team.

https://discord.gg/g5hq6Th

Reblog and join! 

Open to anyone and everyone 16 and older, as long as you love Karkat.

I’m glad you’re here just the way you are

The Beginning of the Overarching Plot and Conflict

In a sense, the Harvest Festival feels like the end of an era in the story. Major story beats are resolved, new conflicts and plot points are presented, and there’s a shift in focus. I’d say the most important question in this first part of the series is whether Iruma wants to stay in the underworld, so with that finally answered, the story must evolve to continue. While Iruma is still the focus, other character like the Misfits and some teachers start gaining more independence, having their own storylines. There’s also a slight tonal shift as the plot gearing up mandates a bit more seriousness and creates a sense of urgency. Since I’ve already covered those aspects in previous sections, I now want to take the time to cover some new conflicts and plot points.

The Demon King prophecy already sets up Iruma to be the next demon king, so it’s not as if this is new information, but there is a key difference. A prophecy is something magical and beyond interference, making it seem like Iruma was coincidentally stumbling into its criteria, but this is an event created by a specific person, likely Delkira himself or someone operating on his orders, and we know that Sullivan served him directly.

The purpose is purportedly to find the “least demon-like demon,” but the criteria to find the legendary leaf seems less concerned about that and more concerned with finding a human. All the necessary traits are natural to Iruma as a human, and the final form of the legendary leaf is a cherry tree. It’s as if the person who created the festival wanted to bring humanity into the underworld. Sullivan is a very good grandfather, and I would never diminish that, but he’s definitely hiding things, including his real reason for bringing Iruma into the underworld. When Iruma tries to question the cherry blossoms, Sullivan cuts him off, establishing that line of questioning as off-limits, but also showing that it, and his role in everything, will become relevant later. He’s an increasingly suspicious figure and I genuinely don’t believe that Iruma fitting the prophecy is a coincidence considering both Sullivan’s connection to Delkira, and his own ability to meddle in the demon world.

Delkira’s involvement is proven by his appearance once the legendary leaf blooms, surrounding Iruma almost as if capturing him, perhaps representing Iruma now being in destiny’s clutches. There are a couple ways the line “So, it’s you?” can be interpreted. It could simply be in regard to the one who grew the legendary leaf, but I’m less inclined to believe that considering multiple people were involved in that while Delkira only appeared to Iruma. The other option, and the one I’m in favor of, is that Iruma’s been chosen, and whatever part of Delkira that was released recognized that. Delkira doesn’t show up that often, but he seems to have strong feelings on what the underworld should look like, so there’s a good chance that he purposefully disappeared as part of some greater plot. A plot that now includes Iruma.

Wrapping up this arc, the demons shaping up to be the main antagonists of the series return in a truly bone-chilling fashion. Iruma’s declaration was a powerful moment, but right at the end, those same words take on a sinister meaning, now haunting every subsequent chapter until the other shoe drops. The one thing that Iruma can’t let anyone know without compromising his safety is now in the hands of the enemy. An enemy who isn’t opposed to killing and eating him. Whatever they’re cooking up, it’s clear that this secret is part of their plans and it’s only a matter of time before Iruma gets exposed. However, Iruma’s words “because I’m human” spark the next big theme of the series. I consider everything from the first chapter to the end of the Harvest Festival as sort of part one in terms of story development and themes. Up to this point it’s all about Iruma discovering what he wants, after this he knows, so the focus changes. The next part is concerned with secrets, things not said or seen, and it all centers around the core lie of Iruma’s identity.

<prev | next>