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CLAMP: Euphie Artwork + icons

I recently came to admire CLAMP's artwork, despite having the bad habit of drawing really skinny characters, and I cannot get over how beautiful this scan is of Euphie from Code Geass:




And of course, being a graphic maker, I just had to icon this as many times possible for various occasions. I love how easy it is to fiddle with the colouring of CLAMP artwork in comparison to other animanga scans. I also love the pink hair ;) 

Feel free to take any of the below and it would be nice to be credited back here or at shantmind, which is my icon journal at lj. 

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Character Defense: The Feminine Girls Ft. Matou Sakura & Ryuzaki Sakuno

I found myself drawn to the quiet yet determined female characters in shows because once upon a time, I was a very shy girl. It's heartbreaking when fans of a show don't like such characters because they weren't hardcore or masculine enough. The last reason was odd to hear because, well...these feminine characters were just that, incredibly feminine. 

Two such characters are Matou Sakura (Fate series) & Ryuzaki Sakuno (Prince of Tennis) and they definitely fell into the girly-girls-who-are-disliked-because-they-are-so-not-hardcore-enough category. This post is to defend them so if such a thing offends you, it's best not to read ;)

Matou Sakura, Ryuzaki Sakuno
Matou Sakura (left) & Ryuzaki Sakuno (right)

Let's begin with Sakura, a character from a series where magic existed and the darker side of humans were depicted. She was the younger sister of Tohsaka Rin and adopted by the Matou family at a young age due to political reasons. She lived in a home where she was abused by the family and raped by magical worms for 11 years.

Ick. 

Because of the abuse she endured, she became passive and submissive.  People don't like it when characters were passive and submissive. Yet when it concerned her crush, Emiya Shirou, she was persistent. This blog over at tumblr outlined basic reasons why most dislike her as did this journal entry. Were these reasons legitimate? That's up the readers to decide. I for one, didn't agree with most of them.

Sakura had an abusive history and for her to be able to hide her true feelings was amazing. She seemed to be a sweet girl but had an underlying aggression. It eventually personified into a personality, showcasing the submerged emotions within:
Dark Matou Sakura
Add caption

Matou Sakura in her Dark form

Overall, she was a background character until she received a few episodes to herself near the end. It was said in the visual novels her back story was explained quite well.

Now for Ryuzaki Sakuno, the quiet young girl from Prince of Tennis, who admired the protagonist enough to pick up tennis and became quite good in the end. It's was typical shounen story, where the main character met various rivals, became the best, etc. etc. There wasn't magic or war, just simple comedy and action.

She too was persistent with her feelings, even though she was very shy. She seemed to have spurts of courage throughout the anime, though.

I should mention that the PoT fandom was heavily immersed in yaoi preferences. That's probably why many hate her as well - she 'gets in the way of a yaoi otp'. It's as if all the yaoi pairings in fandom exists in canon...well, the majority don't. There's nothing wrong with shipping a particular couple at all but the reaction to third parties and threats, or 'threats' do. 

Oh yes, other reasons were that she was annoying, whiny and too girly.

Here is a lovely summation written by dropsofgleam of her appearances and relationships as well as a defense against the hate she received near the bottom. This blog post covered some popular reasons for the hate she received.

Ryuzaki Sakuno scolding
Sakuno defending Horio 

The common factor between the two was that they were, again, quite feminine (being associated with pinks, pastels and 'girly' outfits) and this worked against them. It's as if these types of characters do not have a place among particular fandoms.

My theory of why many female fans, not all of course, must not like such characters, or even real women, was summed up nicely in an article by Lakshmi Ganesan

Yes, feminism is on the rise and it's been noticed in North America especially that the female voice has reduced, so to speak, while in countries such as Japan, it has increased. While that may be do to issues of equality, another factor of this could be the competition for men.

There are many women who are less girly and do not receive attention from men, or so they think. So they take out their frustration out on the girly types. An example of this is when I was in university:

I had two friends who had not had a boyfriend at all in their lives. They were much more athletic and opinionated than I was. They were twenty-three, a year older than me at the time, and thought there was something wrong with them. Now, with insecurities comes bad choices and the bad choice they made was to take their frustration of being lonely out on me, the friend who had 'guys falling all over her because she's so feminine'

There was only one man in my life at the time and I did not receive any more attention than that. It was very annoying to put up with the put-downs since a target was needed to vent out. Once they finally got a boyfriend, they were so much easier to deal with, proving they did have insecurities. 

This example can be linked to the online hate towards feminine female characters or the threat to a relationship - some people see a parallel to their own situation. Now, with the world much more attuned to the internet, this hate carried over in larger amounts. This isn't to say it's the sole reason why incredibly feminine characters are disliked but that seems to be a major one. 

Looking back at the fandom, I understand that characters such as Sakura and Sakuno weren't appealing to many just because or maybe their preference was another archetype. Not everyone has to like them. But it is not okay to vent out frustrations because of such silly reasons as being too feminine.

Why?

Because this could give way to more and more hate forming against the feminine females in the world. We don't need to love one another for who we are but it would be amazing if we could just accept a woman who is a complete tomboy, a complete girly-girl, or anything in between. 

It's just who they are. It is just who Matou Sakura and Ryuzaki Sakuno were and it would show progression if we accepted these females instead of constantly criticizing them. 


Emiya Sakuraryosaku

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An Overview of Library Wars: Love & War (Spoilers)

At 14 years of age, I began my never ending descent into anime. In this time, I purchased many, many manga and have kept them until today. Recently, I re-read the first volume of Library Wars: Love & War, also known as Toshokan Sensou.



library wars
by Kiiro Yumi  (12+ Volumes)
Original Concept by Hiro Arikawa


The plot revolves around Kasaharu Iku, a woman who passionately fights against the Media Betterment Committee in a modern day Japan. Media is censored for the good of the people and the MBC takes some extreme steps to rid of books. 

Iku joins the Kantou Library Defense Force, a unit dedicated to resist against the MBC, because she was inspired by her Prince who assisted her while in high school. 

Funnily enough, her harsh, rule abiding team leader, Dojo, is the Prince she's been searching for and everyone seems to know except for her. This greatly adds to the humour aspect.


The plot is based on the Statement on Intellectual Freedom in Libraries which was put in place in 1954, only to be amended in 1979 in Japan. A paper discussing the background of this document can be found here. It is short, concise and indirectly gives insight to the premise of the manga.

In the beginning, the concept was a little strange to me since I've been raised in a country which, for the most part, allows such freedoms. As the story went on, I began understanding how annoying and frustrating it must be for the citizens to lose their freedom to read what they desire. The government seems to want people to become obedient and halt free thought.

The characters are likable and the pairing between Iku and Dojo is endearing. Iku serves as a combat orientated character who is not very academically intelligent. This causes comical situations as others react differently to her lack of attention to detail. 

Almost every time, she is scolded by Dojo, who has a soft spot for her but is incredibly hard on her. Tezuka, Komaki, Shizubaki, and Genda, her colleagues, have developed into more than merely supporting characters. They really drive the plot forward and at the end of each situation is a sweet scene between Dojo and Iku.

In regards to the art, I have a bias towards the style of Kiiro Yumi and any others similar to hers. The postures and poses seem very natural and detailed. The cover images are gorgeous, in my opinion, although very deceiving in terms of relationship development.





There is also an anime based on the original work. I haven't watched it yet but from the images, Iku is definitely much more feminine in the manga.


Iku in the anime

Overall, I'd rate the manga 8/10 because of the development of the plot and its pacing. Iku's character traits are beginning to get tiresome but that may be because I read 4 volumes at one go. Not the best idea. So far, up to volume 10 is translated and available in English.

Give it a go if you're looking for something cute and humorous :) 

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Building a Home Chicken Coop

The purpose of a chicken coop must be to safeguard chickens from extremes in weather conditions - heat and cold, wind and rain. In areas where the weather makes this necessary the coop should be built in a manner that supplies this shelter for the chickens by means of sufficient insulating material. For chickens dislike high temperatures, windows need to be targeted in such a way to prevent overheating. Adequate air flow is also essential.

A chicken coop ought to provide seamless access to an outside pen during the day. Chickens need access to their coop for their nesting boxes and egg laying. Sand is a great flooring that chickens enjoy and it is good for water drainage in the outside secured run. A chicken coop may not have to be heated, plus a hot chicken coop may not necessarily be healthy for the flock. It is dependent upon the climate, weather, and situation.

Any chicken coop should be simple to keep clean. It should be free from dust, dirt, and spiderwebs. The roof structure should be water tight. In a well-equipped chicken coop, the most difficult thing you'll have to do, most times, is remember to gather the eggs. Beginning a brand new backyard chicken coop can be a lot of work. Responding to rules, constructing your coop, choosing the right birds ... Didn't somebody suggest keeping chickens was going to be simple?

The very good news is, if you've accomplished all of the above, the difficult part is over. You'll find that raising chickens is going to be less difficult than looking after lots of household pets. Because chickens look for a quiet place to lay their eggs, nesting boxes, filled with clean, dry hay or similar substance, are an essential attribute of the majority of chicken coops.

In a commercial context "free range" can sometimes mean that chickens only have an exceptionally modest space to wander and just at certain times of the day. Otherwise they spend their days and nights in cages. Small farm owners and backyard homesteaders ought to know, however, that free range means chickens can peck, forage, and wander wherever they want, and whenever they want.

Keeping fresh water available to the flock is essential. Chickens can only stay alive two or three days without having hydration, so negelecting to refill an undersized dish every day can lead to tragedy.

A backyard chicken coop may be a great source of fresh eggs, enjoyment, meat, and a direct lesson on exactly where our food originates. Nurturing chickens is relatively hassle-free, affordable, and together with just a little advance work and expenditure, can be a gratifying addition to your life.

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Goffin Cockatoo is One of The Tiniest Parrots in All Over The World

The parakeet may be a little parrot found all the method through the drier elements of the Australia. These parrot square measure clever, one kind of social animal and show pride in fiddling with their toys and act at the side of humans and different Parakeets. Parakeet's square measure roaming birds that square measure found in open habitats. They take food from the grass weeds and seeds of spinier. Parakeets do preening to require away grime and dirt from their fine hair. Parakeets square measure terribly in vogue pets. They are greatly sociable and frolicker. They even have completely different reasonably colors, in order that they will simply realize, that one the proper parrot for you. If you're regarding brooding about considering puzzling over wondering} shopping for one in every of the parrots then you've got to require to a small degree information about the birds.

Parakeets are well-favored and clever pets, if you're thinking for purchasing one; you've got to find out slightly concerning sensible Parakeet Care. This can facilitate ensure that you simply and your pet bird relish an extended, happy relationship. Concerning the look after the birds you've got to take care of or follow four auditory possible. Initial is that the cage, these birds also are known as budgies, would like the right cage. The birds would like a giant cage to open his wings full. The cage ought to be move backward and forward and a minimum of 2 perches. The cages have to be compelled to pluck at very cheap drawer, thus it will with none problem maintain the ground clean. Perpetually offer parakeet food and water daily. There should be the aliment drops and bird gravel. The birds frighten simply, try and avoid the noise and fast movement ahead of them. to stay your birds healthy got to exercise which means flight. You ought to do away with your bird from the cage to fly for each day. In hebdomadally you've got to fulfill animal doctor together with your birds, for a healthy health check.

Goffin Parrot is one in every of the tiniest parrots, WHO love parrots and wish to be a pet in his home, this bird if good for them. Its size twelve inches solely long and from the Nymphicus hollandicus birds it's to a small degree heavier. The colors of the bird's square measure white through yellow within the tail, fathers lined by wing and ear. Within the back there's pink feather. These parrots square measure terribly inquisitive, smart, social and tender birds. This bird's sizes square measure little however the cages need for the birds a bit like different birds cage the larger one. These birds are typically the foremost talkers, however a number of them square measure increase a widespread vocabulary. These birds are terribly sensible, lovely, choleric and curious. They're become terribly self-abusive, screaming and dangerous once you square measure while not t travail the right travail and conjointly psychological contact has been created.

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Allan J Wilkinson has published 4 articles. Article submitted on August 22, 2013. Word count: 498

I don't think there's any pet owner who enjoys it when his dog leaves fur all over the place, may it be on your couch, floor, or anywhere your dog goes.

Written by: Richard Perkins

Through the centuries, bird enthusiasts and other people have been putting up bird houses all over the country and all over the world. These bird houses are designed to attract different kinds of birds, and they are very helpful in enhancing your bird-watching experience.

Written by: Thomas Ludwig

There are some essential steps which are needed to be followed for the puppy buyers. If you are interested to go for a puppy for sale store, then you can follow these. All over the world puppies for sale is a fast growing business.

Written by: Jemes Brog

You likely live in a household that has many different members. It is not only the humans that make up the household, but in many cases, it is also the animals that are included in the home. As a matter of fact, some families consider their pets like family member.

Written by: Morgan Jameson

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Pet Care is a Very Challenging and Complex Task

Caring for pets is not as easy as it might appear. The animals like cats and dogs are extremely sensitive creatures and require extensive tending and attention. If you fail to do so, he or she might suffer from depression, anxiety and other behavioral changes and fall sick. Thus, it is very important that proper pet care is rendered.

How to offer pet care when you are away from home?

Often you have to stay away from your home due to work or any other reason, isn't it? How to handle and tender the canine friends in such a situation? Who will attend them when you aren't at home with your friend? This is a serious issue because they cannot stay alone as they require constant care and attention.

Is there any solution to the problem? Don't get distressed and give a big smile because there is an amazing solution and it lies with the pet sitters or the boarding care centers. Depending upon your tastes and preferences you can choose either of the one for proper guardianship of the animals in your absence.

How should one render the complete and proper tender?

He or she shouldn't be rough handled instead they should be given the complete attention in a very tender manner.There must be routine maintained for the food time, play time and the sleeping time. Even these animals enjoy a routine life.Proper and nutritional food must be provided to the animals.Make sure you don't leave your companion unattended for long hours. If such a situation arises, hire a sitter and leave them in a boarding care center.Spend quality time with your four legged friend if you want to see him/her happy and healthy.Try to render him/her comfort in every possible manner.

Why is such service so important?

Just because they are animals doesn't mean that they don't have any emotions and feelings. In fact, they are similar to human beings and don't you consider them as your own child or friend. Don't you think he or she must get the best care and treatment regardless of any situation? Moreover, it has been found that if these creatures are left alone on their own they show visible signs of depression, anxiety and some weird behavioral patterns. Therefore, it becomes mandatory that they are addressed with the best and optimal treatment.

If you want to know more about pet care , Johns' pampered pooch is a professional pet care and pet minders offering you with the best pet sitting, dog walking, pet minding services in Melbourne.
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