#ln 5

The writer in me wants to type a long a$$ essay about this redraw, why I'm not sharing the colored version and the many critiques I have about it. But the brave artist in me is telling them to shut up and just post the sketch. If I talk too negatively about my own work, then you all will look at my work in a more negative light. And that defeats the purpose of sharing it.

So, here is the finished product minus the colored sketch.

I'm hoping to post another redraw sketch for the next Sunday Sketch Day. But no guarantees!

Subaru desiring to not be blamed is pretty heartbreaking and like.. I don’t think he should be blamed for this tbh even with his selfish thoughts (that were bloomed from trauma + wanting to make sure he has something stable in his hellish life) influencing Subaru here to the point he sorta wanted something to happen so he could save the Village like last time & thus that Heroism will get him Emilia - and everybody else’s - love.

It’s shit like that honestly that makes Heroism so condemned in the narrative beyond even the more blunt overt Anti-Hero messages such as Puck’s nasty one liner to Reinhard.

Beyond all this, there’s a prose thing I want to point out. Subaru considered Emilia falling into peril a “blessing from Heaven” which with what I’ve been pointing out about the utilization of Heaven…

I wonder what exact connotations that world has. Having that word used in 3/5 Candidate speeches with curiously one of them lacking it being Emilia’s… hmmm. Felt is anti-Fate so that could also be why she lacks that motif beyond the fact these 2 Candidates are more for the people.

Then, Subaru thinking of that specific word again “as if the revelation came from the Heavens” when he got the idea in that nightime drinking convo with Crusch that RBD is something that only he could do & to utilize that.

I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for any Religious Organizations (beyond the Cult) that pop up, since Heaven itself is seeming to be framed as a very bad thing narratively within this story so it’s likely said Organizations are QUITE bad with how Religion & Heaven are intertwined often.

Actuallyyyyy… a thought occurs to me. I’ve vaguely heard of the fact Gusteko is run by a Church. Then all these Heaven motifs popping up & the stuff I pointed out about them + me commenting on how they might have severe Leadership issues due to the fact their borders seem to have abruptly closed when I made commentary on Otto’s Gusteko Oil shebang. Hell, the Gusteko stuff was even mentioned the same chapter this snippet of the Heaven motif was utilized here.

Just, this like. Makes me think Gusteko’s Government with its Religious Emphasis - and thus entwinement to Heaven - is actually very narratively against the themes of Re:Zero itself potentially.

Surrounded by large displays of ancient dinosaur bones, Lily was again confused. This memory wasn't familiar to her; she had never been to chicago. She walked through the display seeing more dinosaur displays and came across a ‘nest’ of dinosaur eggs displayed. The curators had painted them light blue with white spots and a small dinosaur guarding the eggs. Lily thought the whole exhibit was entertaining with all the scenes of what humans imagined of dinosaurs.  She kept walking through the exhibits until she reached the human body experiment. Seeing human body parts on display was humbling, we will all die. The exhibits are real people cut up into pieces; they once lived.

Intently staring at a brain in a jar Lily’s attention was brought to a little boy sitting on a bench. This boy was looking at the exhibit of the human body's nerves laid out. He was tracing the glass with his fingers following the nerves. This boy looked familiar to Lily but she couldn't place him. They were the only people in the museum. Trying to sit down, she bumped her knee on the bench and was reminded of her skinned knee, it seemed like it was getting worse. She patted her knee to get the aching to stop.

The boy looked at her and whispered, “Where are these people? They are here and here but where are they?” Lily looked at him confused, this boy was probably eight. How would he know to ask a question like that? “I think they are all here and all there.” He pointed to the brain Lily had been looking at, “That’s you, you are there.” remembering what her younger self had said to her on the lake sent a chill through her. She tried to talk to the boy again but like at the lake he seemed to be playing out a memory and couldn't be interrupted.

Still puzzled, she saw a sign for the art exhibit and headed that way. The paintings were amazing and beautiful. She browsed them and saw a painting of her dog Shiner sitting in the living room of her house. Her whole family was in the living room except her. She didn't remember this and was trying to picture it. Everyone looked sad dressed in all black. She heard whistling and turned around to see her younger self standing behind her. She pointed to the painting and said, “Yep. Where are you?” then her younger self disappeared right in front of Lily.

She turned around to see the painting again and noticed the calendar in the background was on the date of her senior prom. Prom, Lily thought, I missed it. Or…I don't remember. She thought about it but no memory came up. A horrifying thought ran through her head, the boy from before was her boyfriend as a kid, he had visited the museum as a boy.