nomadwolf

[nomadwolf]

Closer look at the decals and a proof of concept from my build at Gundam Battle (RIP, gone too soon)

#gunpla #gunplaphotography #gundam #after war gundam x #gundam seed #freedom gundam #ace combat #ace combat 4 #mobile suit gundam

[nomadwolf]

"No one knows what this the next era will look like. However, whatever form the world may take, the Moon will always be there."

Recently finished rewatching After War Gundam X, and wanted to re-share my first ever custom Gunpla - a kitbash of MG Double X and MG Freedom 2.0.

Decals are from Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, playing as ISAF ace Mobius One, also known as "The Ribbon Fighter" or "Grim Reaper". I was a big fan of Ace Combat growing up and looking back I think the idea of playing as an ace pilot led into me getting into the Gundam fandom.

#gunpla #gunplaphotography #after war gundam x #gundam seed #freedom gundam #ace combat #ace combat 4 #gundam

[nomadwolf]

Why Makoto Niijima’s Confidant Is Not About Eiko.

If you’re a Persona fanatic, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the arcana system every Persona game tends to have. The assigned arcana for each character is meant to be meaningful to that specific character; representing who they once were and who they really are. It is when the character obtains their persona that their true selves reach the surface. Usually, the assigned arcanas are meant to be presented during the game’s plot and more so in the character’s confidant.

I’ve seen several posts criticizing Makoto’s confidant and how Eiko, steals the spotlight away from Makoto’s character development. However, if you’re familiar with the arcanas and their meanings, the role Eiko plays becomes a lot more clear.

I want to explore Makoto Niijima’s arcana - The High Priestess, and it’s correlations to her personality and confidant. Before we can dive any further, we first must understand the High Priestess personality type, her strengths, weakness, and how she is viewed by others.

The High Priestess Personality

The Priestess represents a strong person (usually a woman), who has an ideal blend of logic and intuition. Her emotions run deep, but she is very self-aware and able to distinguish emotion from intuition. She is also keenly analytical and she can combine these skills in such a way that she is a natural leader. Priestess people rely heavily on their naturally strong intuition and they have an uncanny ability to see through hidden agendas etc. Because of this natural strength, people sometimes feel intimidated by this person.  You’ll find though, that despite their ability to see deep, hidden inner secrets; Priestess people are highly compassionate and slow to find fault with others.  High priestess is someone who has a hard shell and is not easy to figure out. Behind the shell is a very sensitive person who doesn’t always show you how they feel. Source.

The challenges with a Priestess card can be a tendency to appear aloof. Priestess people who don’t have good command of their intuition/emotions can also have bouts of intense anxiety, depression, and moodiness.

The strengths of Priestess people are keen intuition, a strong mind and innate understanding of human nature, and a good balance between logic and intuition.

The High Priestess on Feelings

The High Priestess speaks of feelings that often change. The Seeker doesn’t know what he or she is feeling, and/or the feelings seem to be inaccessible. The Seeker is riding the highs and lows of their feelings and they have a hard time explaining how they feel or understand themselves. The Seeker wants stability. This person is feeling a soul connection with you, but there are emotional waters that need to be crossed before they know if you are the one they can feel safe with. Emotional security is the most important thing when the High Priestess show up. Source.

The High Priestess When Reversed

When The High Priestess  falls Reversed she suggests that you are not listening to your inner-self or have problems accessing your intuition.  You do not trust yourself to make the right decision, or have any faith or belief in yourself.  You are letting others run your life and doing what they think is right for you.  Deep down you know what you want but you ignore the inner calling.  However, there may be someone very wise and knowledgeable offering you some sound advice but you may not be listening to it, or choose not to hear it

You may be keeping yourself busy in order to distract yourself from your problems or issues, hoping they will sort themselves out.  Maybe you are afraid to stop and go within for fear of what you might find.  The decisions you might have to make as a result may be painful and difficult. The truth you may have to face about yourself or others may shock or disturb you. Source.

Now that we have a general understanding of Makoto’s arcana, the question still remains - is Makoto’s confidant about Eiko?

Correlations Between Makoto’s Social Link & Arcana

Claim: Makoto’s Social Link is about Eiko, not her.

Connection to Arcana: “The High priestess is someone who has a hard shell and is not easy to figure out. Behind the shell is a very sensitive person who doesn’t always show you how they feel. The challenges with a Priestess card can be a tendency to appear aloof.”

My Response: Eiko actually represents what is stated above; in other words, Eiko represents Makoto’s hard shell and inability to show how she really feels. This can lead to misconceptions regarding who she really is, often appearing cold and distant to others [in this case, Eiko].

So where in Makoto’s confidant does Eiko display such examples? Let’s start of on Eiko’s impression of Makoto prior to befriending her.

When Makoto and Eiko First Meet

Example 1: Eiko directly tells Makoto she thought she was robot, appearing aloof and serious to her prior to getting to know her.

Eiko is aware she has misjudged Makoto, and wants to get to know who she really is. She is representing the result of Makoto’s hard shell; appearing aloof to those around her. However, because Makoto is still struggling to be an open book, Eiko continues to have misconceptions of her, resulting in the following.

Eiko isn’t this character stealing the spotlight away from Makoto, in fact, she is the presentation of Makoto’s hard shell, and the consequences behind her inability to openly express her feelings.

Claim: Makoto’s confidant doesn’t exclusively focus on any character growth from Makoto.

Connection to Arcana: “When The High Priestess  falls reversed she suggests that you are not listening to your inner-self or have problems accessing your intuition.  You do not trust yourself to make the right decision, or have any faith or belief in yourself.  You are letting others run your life and doing what they think is right for you.  Deep down you know what you want but you ignore the inner calling.”

My Response: Makoto’s confidant is actually all about Makoto’s reflection and gaining her intuition back.

In the beginning of the game, Makoto is introduced as the class President and is immediately assigned to identify the Phantom Thieves. She is blackmailed by the Principal twice, is consistently being told who to be by her old sister Sae, Goro Akechi, and at some point even the Phantom Thieves themselves. She is listening to everyone but herself, until she realizes she is not going to let anyone run her life for her thus awakening to her persona. Her confidant is the aftermath of her arc. Although she now has control of who she really is, she is still struggling to trust her inner gut. She wants to fully understand her life goals and why she chose them. Originally, she thought letting someone else run her life for her was the right thing to do.

Besides representing Makoto’s inability to express her feelings, Eiko also represents what Makoto is attempting to obtain: a clear vision of who she wants to be moving forward.

In the example below, Makoto explains to the protagonist that although Eiko’s grades are not the best, she is content where she’s currently at in life. Makoto, on the hand, is unable to grasp this concept until she compares Eiko’s vision to her own, realizing how little she truly knows about herself.

Along with the Protagonist, Eiko helped Makoto understand her own life goals and how to obtain them.

And Makoto isn’t just reflecting on her life goals anymore. She realizes she has to understand the world around her in order to understand herself. From this, she comes to terms with her own flaws, and wants to improve them.

Example 1: Admitting Immaturity.

Example 2: Self Aware. Fighting Ignorance.

Example 3: Acting in the moment.

In the end, Eiko and the Protagonist helped Makoto tap into her hidden wisdom and intuition. Throughout Eiko’s boyfriend problems, Makoto realized she wanted to know how to live, remembering her father in the progress and what he had taught her. She not only knows what she wants, but understands why. She is no longer going to allow others to run her life for her. She is confident in who she is and understands there’s so much more to life than what she allowed others to force upon her.

Conclusion: In conclusion, Makoto’s confidant is not about Eiko and her boyfriend problems. It is about Makoto’s inner struggles and inabilities, especially when connecting the dots to her assigned arcana - the High Priestess.  Makoto Niijima is not a character that is meant to be understood so easily. She is not an open book and due to that nature, she can appear aloof or distant to others. Her confidant deals with the struggles that come with feeling lost in life and allowing others to run it for you. People can say what they want, but it is quite clear that this confidant, is about a high priestess arcana personality, and their journey in understanding who they really are.

Want to make your own connections to Makoto’s Arcana and her social link? Click on the link below if you wish to view Makoto’s confidant fully.

Makoto Confidant [All Ranks]. 

#persona 5 #makoto niijima

[nomadwolf]

Persona 4: Yu x Yukiko

They are my favorite two people to be together because their coming together feels the most natural. Unlike most of the girls Yukiko is neither crazy in love from the start but her crush on Yu or even love for Yu doesn’t crop at the last minute either and the narration itself notes that Yu notices when she starts to fall for him. She’s interested in him from almost the start of them being around together often and it just blossoms from there. And while it’s left vague with most girls, it’s pretty obvious that her family (who has yet to meet him as of the ending) is accepting of their relationship. It’s just they fit together well and she comes to the conclusion to stay on her own even if it means they’ll be separated. And Yu telling her he wants to support her when she’s the manager (and being willing to eat whatever bizarre nightmares she cooks with the squid ink…) on Valentine’s Day just shows what she means to him.

Other relationships between characters are great but theirs will always be my favorite for how they fit and how good they are together.

#persona 4 #persona 4 golden #yu x yukiko

[nomadwolf]

[nomadwolf]

Yukiko and Yu in Persona 4 the Animation ♡

[nomadwolf]

MG Eclipse Freedom "Konohana Sakuya", inspired from Yukiko Amagi's Persona from Persona 4! Took a long time trying to get the right mix of red for this one, but I think it turned out okay. My favorite part was designing the wings, wanted to make it look like a flower when fully spread!

#gunpla #gunplaphotography #persona 4 yukiko #persona 4 #yukiko amagi #atlus #atlusfaithful #gundam

[nomadwolf]

Zero Gravity Judge "Izanagi" inspired from Persona 4!

#persona 4 #persona series #yu narukami #izanagi #gunpla #gunplaphotography #souji seta

[nomadwolf]

[nomadwolf]

EDのダンスすき 

眼亀 (@okbnkn) 

[nomadwolf]

reblog bocchi the money for a wealthy new year

[nomadwolf]

[nomadwolf]

“Don’t think, just do.” 

MG Zeta 2.0 “Maverick”, based off of the F-18 from “Top Gun: Maverick”. 

#gunpla #gundam #topgun #zeta gundam #gunplaphotography

[nomadwolf]

Quotes from "ANDOR" which keep haunting me:

"Gets to you, doesn't it? That's what a reckoning sounds like."

"That's just love. Nothing you can do about that."

"But this time... You can't stay and I can't go."

"Power doesn't panic."

"I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude."

"Never more than twelve."

"ONE WAY OUT!"

"I've made my mind a sunless place. I share my dreams with ghosts."

"I can't swim."

"Let's call it war."

"Tyranny requires constant effort. Authority is brittle. It breaks, it leaks. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that."

"Freedom is a pure idea."

"I show you the stone in my hand, you miss the knife at your throat."

"Tell him I love him more than anything he could ever do wrong."

"The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness, it is never more alive than when we sleep."

[nomadwolf]

[nomadwolf]

“I’m sorry Makoto. I wish I could do better. That we can just be normal teenagers, worry about exams and stuffs, and not the bounty….”

“Having you is all I need.”

[nomadwolf]

[ @shumakoweek Day1: First time] “Are you sure you don’t need me to hold your hand?” “I…i..it’s fine! I got this!”