Jimsa - Tumblr Posts

‘Maybe there won’t be marriage… maybe there won’t be sex… but, by god, there’ll be dancing’ - My Best Friend’s Wedding (quote relevant)

A scene from a story I’m probably never going to write.

Long story short, Jimsa makes a move on his colleague, Zaravant is taken aback and rejects him without thinking much but then starts having second thoughts and eventually, having more or less sorted out his feelings, he makes up his mind, seeks Jimsa out at a banquet held for Rajendra, and drags him outside to Talk. And so they Talk; Zaravant is trying to put his complicated feelings into words but failing badly, Jimsa is not helping, and at some point Zaravant gives up and says ‘Screw this. Do you want to dance,’ in response to which Jimsa asks ‘Do you want me to go kidnap one of the court musicians and drag them here?’ Zaravant laughs and even though he knows it’s a joke (or is it?), he still answers ‘There’s no need,’ then adds ‘I know a good song.’

Arslan Senki Chapter 121

I was going to say that in that first panel, it looks like Jimsa selected a horse similar to the Turanian 'type' but actually I think his mount just looks small next to Shabrang! (I actually went back to look at Jimsa's horse in earlier chapters and in doing so I caught a minor mistake in Chapter 117, where his horse's mane is erroneously colored black in one panel)

Good horse content this chapter, anyway: I like that it's Jimsa (a Turanian, whose lifeblood is their horses even more so than Parsians) who rides in shouting for water for his horse. And how quick the men are to care for the horses that have been ridden so hard. (Seeing them pour water on Shabrang's legs instantly made me think of how racehorses are cooled down; it's worth remembering that this battle is taking place in sweltering heat and those horses have been worked extremely hard to the point that it's a valid concern to think that they might collapse from overheating. The way Jimsa's horse is breathing is definitely worrying. (If you're interested, there's an article here about preventing post-race collapse in racehorses that goes into more detail and sheds some light on precisely why they're right to be so concerned.)

The dialogue that accompanied wet Daryun is 👌 (when he says "To the ends of the earth, if that be your order" because doesn't that one line just embody Daryun's feelings?)

And GIEVE, holy shit. I admit I have never been his biggest fan, but his involvement in the defeat and death of Bodin hit the right spot.

"Even now, you squirm unknowingly on the palm of my hand like the mediocrity you are!" is going down as one of my favourite lines in the whole series, seriously.

Right on both counts. Also, lol at the face of the soldier in the middle who looks far more worried by Bodin's pursuit than Narsus or Gieve

Something I really liked with how this all turned out is that Arakawa didn't just add Bodin into the mix because it was a convenient place to kill him off, she also integrated his presence on the battlefield and the tactics used to deal with him into what happens to Guiscard.

(I've already shared my thoughts on Guiscard's survival prospects via reblog here, so consider those bullet points a lit candle for his prayer circle! The one counterpoint to the argument that he will survive is the fact that a key reason for allowing him to live is now no longer necessary; Bodin is gone so there's no need to try and pit them against each other.)

It's mentioned quite a few times in the novels that an enemy who has a good grasp of tactics etc is easier to predict that someone who is more of a wildcard. Narsus knows enough of Guiscard to feel confident in what his move will be here, despite never having met him!

On that note, I really cannot wait for Guiscard and Arslan to come face to face.

(Just thinking back to how stressed the Parsian soldiers look when Bodin is on their heels and you know, it makes a lot of sense. Though they know it's part of a plan, they're still relying on the actions of an external force in order to pull it off. Not everyone has Narsus's understanding of strategy, so perhaps they're concerned that Guiscard won't do as expected and instead Bodin's forces will catch them. Plus, although Narsus had time for a quick tactical talk, the situation was still quite fraught and needed a fast response so I doubt there was much time to go into great detail and reassure everyone.)

The moment I realised what was going to happen to Bodin and his army will stick with me for a long time. I knew I would enjoy seeing him meet his end, but I didn't expect the moment to feel so impactful. (That panel where he first looks at the rotting remains of the Parsian cavalry in the pit just keeps coming into my mind, even days after first reading this chapter.)

So thinking ahead to what we might see next chapter... obviously a resolution to whatever's going to happen with Guiscard. I can't see that being the entirety of the chapter, though, so what else might we see? I wonder whether we'll get a panel or two of a Team Zahhak reaction or some sort of... 'status update' I guess (this chapter did have that 'man who hears the voice of god' line to remind us of Team Zahhak's involvement with Bodin). Otherwise, I would dearly love to get a glimpse of what's going on in Ecbatana, where Team Hilmes are beginning to feel the pressure. Yes, it has 100% been too long since I have last seen Zandeh.

volume 17 sketches

From the German edition

Lmao at their tiny bums.

I really liked how the scene transitioned here, we see Jimsa and Zaravant (a duo) set off to follow a trail of dead Lusitanians, and then immediately we see Team Hilmes soldiers spotting a duo of riders outside their walls, and we don't see who it is right away. But of course it's revealed shortly after, but I just really love how the scene transitioned here.

He is indeed too good to let die :(

The guilt, man. The guilt. Not being able to protect the capital. Serving with the man who's allied to the forces that brought it down because he believed. Not having the faith he had in Hilmes returned. He's in a rough spot, and probably contemplating his worth. Somebody please hug the guy.

Man I feel bad for Tahamenay and Badakshan. Also, Andragoras is taking none of anyone's feelings seriously, huh. He doesn't care.

And then we never see Narsus and Merlaine interact afterwards. Bummer :(

I get Guiscard's worries but also, you did the same, my dude. You did the same to Etoile.

Their faces 😂

Narsus' schemes helping them even now. Remember that the stint Kishward and Isfan pulled? Narsus' plan, as the former so admitted. I wonder if he foresaw this. I wonder if he gave Kishward those tactics knowing it will help obscure Team Arslan's numbers down the line? It could very well be a coincidence but knowing Narsus the “Mary Tzu” as some older fans have called, I wouldn't put it past him to have planned so far ahead.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the to new year, @moccino!

General Jimsa performs a traditional Turanian piece at King Arslan’s banquet.

I drew this on A3 paper, so I had to take a photo of it, but I can try and take it to work and scan it in there if you would like a higher resolution image. I wanted to work in as much Turan imagery in as I could, plus everybody’s respective family crests. Isfan’s outfit is a shoutout to Nakamura’s manga version, while fem!Jimsa’s outfit was inspired by Otoyomegatari. For Zaravant I tried to pick out Persian clothes.