#jopper-in-town

*BURSTS DOWN DOOR WITH 3 RED-STRINGED CORKBOARDS IN TOW*

𓂃⟡ ݁ ꒰ Fray/Jop ꒱ ⸝⸝ .ᐟ .

✩ 20+

✩ SEAsia

✩ More active on: discord and twitter

✩ Into: project moon mainly, I also like literature, drawing and writing a lot.

ok so you know that hong lu has serious family issues, because not only of how he talks about how family "betrays" each other at every turn and also how his family had to go through intense physical training along with how shelter he was throughout his entire life, which is supported by his literary canon of his family having ties on him, which is referenced throughout his other identities of being tied to duty from his family

and so, LCB hong lu specifically, who is still tied to his family, has experienced the world less than others and probably doesn't have that many connections, while feeling sad and restricted as an asset of his family (see the land of illusions portrait), probably deals with loneliness as well, as well as feeling tied up to an extent which is why he's so happy in his job right now

the thing is though, he is wilfully ignoring his issues, and his holds intellect on the area (as seen in canto 4 where he is able to identify that yi sang is crying out for help) and therefore, to an extent knows how he feels but chooses not to say it, but to what extent is unknown

now for the comic

specifically, let's start with the premise and the way it is set up, the issue being he is approached by dante and asked a very interesting question, and one that could reveal a lot but doesn't

and how he responds in kind, at least aloud to dante (i assume the last page isn't being said) is also very vague but very concerning, which is absolutely in line with how he speaks about such issues

now we move to page 2, the entire page's background is in black, which makes you focus on him, and specifically we see the close ups on how he reacts with things, laughing and sort of thinking about it, almost waving it off despite knowing and dropping a larger bomb than we expect which is very in line for his character. both to brush it off and to laugh at it

the close up to his face, gives away nothing, it is just a smile at the end of the day, and he responds to most things by smiling as he always does, rarely having any other expressions

though paired with the line "maybe i was feeling a little lonely?" hits differently. the line implies much, as most of his lines do, but never really reveals the heart of the matter which is told in the next page, we are meant to linger on it and figure out what it means much like dante (granted we get a reveal later on but not at the moment)

but specifically, by saying so that it is what it is reveals that in such a way, he is in fact feeling the effects of things and how his life has been and how he's been feeling all this while to the point of coping in such a manner and not telling (and still not telling) anyone

WAHHH YES EXACTLY!!! YOU GET IT… i dont draw comics very often, so im not very well-versed in using composition and panelling to convey my intended meaning… so im really happy you could tell what i wanted to say! 🥹

i put a lot of thought into the 2nd page!! it makes me happy that you analysed it so deeply :DDD

my horrific editing of my own art aside this is some of what i was trying to convey when i drew it!!!

Sorry I'm so late with this! If you want general rambles then you should hit up my main blog: bananaapplewaffle